Stockholm marathoners raise over $8,000 for Live4Life
Sol Murray, Jett Beale, Ned Harrison, Kasper Hellmann, Tom Gleeson, Thomas Lempriere, Jack Gleeson in running shorts and singlets preparing for the start of the Stockholm Marathon.
In June this year, six young Australians took on the summer heat and hills and bridges of Stockholm to run a marathon alongside some of the world's best runners — all while raising funds for Live4Life.
Ned Harrison and his fellow marathoners Sol Murray, Jett Beale, Kasper Hellmann, Tom Gleeson, Thomas Lempriere and Jack Gleeson took on the training as a fitness challenge, but soon realised it was a chance to do something more.
"What we were doing as a group of mates was such a good platform and the opportunity was there to make it a bit more special. Special for us was raising money for Live4Life," says Ned. "This cause is undeniably so close to all of us. To be taught skills and strategies to deal with vulnerable students at secondary school is essential. This is something we all wish was involved in our schools when growing up."
Incredibly, this was the first marathon any of the six had undertaken.
"Funnily enough," laughs Ned, "I’ve never been a massive runner, nor a real fan of it. I do love pushing myself physically and mentally though, and a marathon has been something I’ve always wanted to achieve. In a sense, the fundraising gave us all another reason to push ourselves, as we weren’t only running for ourselves now."
The group set up a fundraising page and reached out to friends and family, but were surprised with the attention it received. "I think it’s really cool how much we did raise," Ned says. "It shows when there is an opportunity for younger people to reach out, there is really no hesitation."
"We are all very proud of the effort we made in raising over $8,000. We are also very thankful for all those who did donate, seeing donations from our places of work and local cafes — like Lovabowl and Barton Milk Bar — was awesome. We really hope this small contribution can go a long way in helping this amazing cause."
The Stockholm Marathon is an annual marathon run in Sweden since 1979. The race starts at the 1912 Olympic Stadium and consists of two loops around the streets of the beautiful European capital built on 14 islands, finishing with a lap around the Stadium. It serves as the Swedish marathon championship race and is categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race by World Athletics.
So, how did these six debut marathoners go?
"I can quite comfortably say we did not achieve the times we sought, due to some injuries and the heat," Ned concedes, and adds that there is "some unfinished business for all of us!"
A huge thank you to this amazing group of young men. Everyone at Live4Life will be following with interest when they take on their next challenge!