Patrick (Jean’s son) produced a personal best in his second half-marathon in seven days on Saturday, defying chilly winds gusting up to 40 mph to come home in one hour 48 minutes 56 seconds.
That eclipsed the time he ran seven days earlier by nearly three minutes and was 28 seconds quicker than his previous personal best mark.
It was also over 10 minutes quicker than his original target a few weeks ago of 1:59:00.
In a personal “March-a-thon,” Patrick is running a half-marathons every weekend in March through the streets of his home town of Reading to raise money for Aquinoe.
He has already easily surpassed the initial £500 target, with £761 the latest figure, and two more half-marathons are planned before the end of the month.
Patrick, 42, says: “I’m delighted with the run and getting a personal best in the wind today was a very pleasant surprise. I was spurred on knowing stepdad Dave was doing his bit at the same time.”
Patrick got the March-a-thon idea from Dave’s fundraiser (the Stroll-a-thon) in 2020 when Dave walked/strolled round the local Recreation ground in Tonbridge for the half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles.
On Saturday, Dave and Aquinoe chair Jean were at Tonbridge Rec again to “synch” with Patrick at the same time he left home around 0840.
Patrick adds: “A big thank you to my family and friends who have supported me and of course to everyone who has very kindly sponsored me. The amount raised is incredible and inspiring me to push on. Two down, two to go.”
Jean says: “Four half marathons in a month is demanding enough, but to achieve a Personal Best in yesterday’s challenging conditions is amazing.
“Patrick’s idea is a wonderful fundraiser for Aquinoe and the trustees are extremely grateful.”
Patrick’s target some weeks back of around 1:59:00 was a tribute to Kenya’s world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, 36, who set the fastest time for the marathon (26.2 miles) in a special event in Vienna in 2019 when he won in 1:59:40.
That made him the first and only man so far to beat the two-hour barrier.
Meanwhile, on a more modest note back in Tonbridge Dave, 75, walked for two hours, covering 4.6 miles before heading back.
In Reading, Patrick’s wife Helena battled it out superbly for an hour on the treadmill at home, observing: “I’m a fair-weather walker.”
Patrick’s sister Rachel, 50 miles away, was also impressively active, running and walking nearly nine miles in total on the morning, though admitting: “There was a long breakfast and shower-break in the middle!”
Further moral support came from step-sister Marie in Dubai and her brother Chris in London with all the family congratulating Patrick later in the day in the regular fortnightly Zoom catch-up.
Dave says: “I’m so proud of everyone in the family. Well done all!”