Hat-trick of runs helps raise funds

A woman has completed a hat-trick of runs in memory of her friend who tragically died in a road traffic accident last year after beating breast cancer.

In the last few weeks Karen Pearson has completed the Great North Run and the Great Eastern Run which she had previously done alongside Teresa Walton.

She also took on the London Marathon which Teresa had been signed-up for, to continue her fundraising for the charity Breast Cancer Now before her death in October last year aged 55.

All of the runs were poignant occasions for Karen, who regularly ran with Teresa, of Weston Hills.

Her all-clear came on New Year’s Eve 2019 five months after her diagnosis which itself came two days after her son Sam’s wedding.

“Teresa had raised thousands before she died and I just wanted to carry that on,” Karen said. “I was able to transfer the Great North Run place to me, though I couldn’t do that with London, so I had to sign up to raise £5,000 for Breast Cancer UK.

“Teresa was amazing,” Karen said. “She did so much for the community, bravely battled cancer and beat it.

“She worked tirelessly to raise the money and I wanted to continue to do that and take up her places.

“I’m sure she’d have been up there looking down on us.”

The pair became friends years ago after bumping into each other at the 2016 Great Eastern Run when Karen was training for the 2017 London Marathon. She raised £4,500 for a meningitis charity after her nephew Robert O’Rourke had the condition.

“I called her Mrs Three Minutes, as every time we ran, I was always three minutes behind at the end.

“We enjoyed a good chat. One race at Silverstone we were talking so much we missed the start. We were waving at others coming past not realising we were meant to be racing them.

“She was a bundle of fun who would help anybody she came across, one of the kindest people you could know.

“Everyone misses Proud Mary as we called her because she loved the song or ‘the lady from Wilkos’.”

Karen says she didn’t train for the events, but beat her London Marathon target of 6hrs 22mins, recorded 3hrs 7mins at the Great North and 2hrs 51mins in the also 13.1 mile Great Eastern run most recently.

“I can’t thank everyone who has helped me enough.

“I’ve had so much support from so many different people, businesses and friends. It’s an honour to raise money in Teresa’s memory and I’m sure she’d be really proud,” said Karen, who lives in Spalding.