County runners help smash world record
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RELAY runners in Caithness helped smash a Guinness World Record this week in their effort to raise money for a brain tumour charity.
Wick-born mother-of-one Carolyn Pierpont led local runners into the pages of the famous book of achievements as part of new charity fundraising event RelayGB.
The local sprinters, joggers and runners were just a handful of the hundreds of people taking part in an attempt to cover 2600 miles around the coast of Britain in over 100 nonstop marathons to raise £500,000 for Brain Tumour UK.
On Wednesday night the world record for distance relay running, previously held at 1923 miles, was broken near St Andrews and by yesterday afternoon, 70 miles further on, runners were still going strong, with the finish line in London all prepped for the baton’s arrival next Thursday.
An exhausted Carolyn told the John O’Groat Journal yesterday that it was well worth the blood, sweat and tears.
"It’s like coming off a high – it’s really just an amazing feeling," she said. "It’s one truly fantastic achievement."
Carolyn was just one of the many runners who helped carry the baton through Caithness on Monday.
Inspiring many of her fellow runners on the trip was Thurso woman Lorna Stanger who, after coming second woman on Sunday in the Mey 10k, got up at 4.30am the next morning to do a marathon leg in under four hours.
"It was just amazing," Carolyn said. "Lorna then joined us later on as we were leaving Wick and did another 10k for us. She’s an exceptional woman."
Carolyn’s old school friends also weighed in on the action including Karen Sinclair who started in Thurdistoft on Monday and ran to John O’Groats where Carolyn picked up the baton and where the team members got their picture taken at the famous signpost.
Carolyn took the baton out from the "end of the road" where Wick Academy footballer Stewart Ross took it up as a last-minute replacement for Carolyn’s partner, Mark Toshney, who had a family emergency to attend to.
Stewart ended up taking the baton 13.1 miles to Wick, despite his lack of training beforehand.
A total of 33 miles was covered by the group, rather than the 26 specified.
Another one of Carolyn’s friends, Jennifer Scott, took the baton out of Wick while a team made up of Angela Gunn, Chris Macleod, Sandy Robertson and Ryan Slater did the Dunbeath to Berriedale leg, with Angela ending up doing the notoriously steep braes.
Wick councillor Gail Ross, who ran from St Fergus Church in Wick up to the Harmsworth Park, praised everyone involved with the event.
"Being part of a world record attempt is something very special, especially when it raises money at the same time," she said.
"I only did a small part in Wick, the real praise goes to the people who have been running huge distances, some of them through the night.
"There was a great atmosphere in the town – well done to Carolyn for organising the Caithness leg."
Gail added: "That woman knows no bounds when it comes to charity work."
Carolyn said that the support shown across the county made the whole journey easier.
"When we were coming through the street in Wick just random people stopped and clapped," she said. "As we got to Caithness General Hospital we saw people hanging out the window and they all came out cheering us on – it was just brilliant.
"When we came into Wick there was a crowd of people standing at the parish church with banners and posters."
Carolyn added: "It was nice to get that home feeling."
Carolyn, who has her own brain tumour charity Bare All for Brain Tumours, said she would be "forever in debt" to those who responded to her call to get involved with the event, as well as to those who took up the baton of their own accord.
"And the same goes to everyone who supported us in Caithness," she said. "Local people have rallied around us like a family to support us and help us raise awareness.
"But it doesn’t stop here as we have to keep raising the profile of this rare type of cancer and get more research into it."
Carolyn, whose partner, Mark, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2009, added: "I’m not going to stop until we find a cure."
Mark ran seven-and-a-half miles on Wednesday, handing the baton over to legendary Scottish Olympic runner Liz McColgan in Arbroath.
The event is due to finish on Thursday at Wandsworth Park, London.
