By: Lucy Stanfield
Our campus celebrity this week is Geordie, Emily Swaddle. Emily is a fourth year student reading Italian and Spanish. As well as studying for her dissertation, Emily is the president of St Andrews University Swimming Club and in her spare time can be found…running a half marathon for charity.
Tell us a bit about the half marathon
The Great North Run is a 13.1-mile half marathon from Newcastle City Centre to South Shields. It’s a really big event – I think about 56,000 runners participated this year, which is rumoured to be the largest half marathon in the world (in terms of participants). With everyone from elite athletes like Mo Farah (who placed second to Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele) to people wearing fridges on their backs.
An actual fridge?
“Tony the Fridge” is kind of a local legend around Newcastle. He always does the Great North Run for charity with a fridge on his back.
Why did you decide to take part?
I ran for the Rainbow Trust, a charity which supports the families of children with serious or terminal illnesses. A friend of mine used to run for this charity but sadly he died a few years ago so I decided to run it in his place.
Has your fundraising been successful?
So far I’ve raised £375. I set a target of £300 so I’m really pleased with that!
What was your time for the run?
I completed it in 2 hours and 34 minutes. I would have liked to have been under 2 and a half hours but it’s the farthest I’ve ever run so I’m happy with that.
Maybe next year?
I can’t commit to it as I don’t know what I’ll be up to this time next year – but I’d definitely consider doing it again at some point!
How was the actual run?
The day was quite cold and it actually hailed at the start – apparently it was the wettest Great North Run on record! There was entertainment along the way. In fact, about half way through the race a Brass Band started up with “Chariots of Fire” just as I ran by! The atmosphere was really great.
Are you pleased you decided to take part?
It was a lot of fun, especially as I’m from Newcastle – the run is almost considered a rite of passage for the locals. It’s great that something so big started off in my hometown.