One of SRSB’s supporters, Pat Powell, had always had an ambition to take part in the London Marathon, so her daughter secretly applied for places for herself, her mum, and her brother…  and Pat was the only one who got a place! ‘At first I was shocked and then panic set in!’ she explains. But, she promptly set about a training regime with the help of her daughter Catherine and the support of the rest of her family. She succesfully completed the Marathon in April 2012!

Pat, who wore her SRSB running vest on the marathon route through the city told us that ‘Some of the highlights were passing the Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge. I was also thrilled to spot all my family who were stationed at different parts of the route to cheer me on! The support from the crowds was great and it was an amazing experience, but one that I doubt I will repeat!!’

She decided to run to raise funds for SRSB in memory of her late husband Peter who used to be a minibus driver at our charity and who was a passionate believer in supporting the visually impaired.

Pat visited our centre after the run (pictured) to show our clients her medal and they wanted to hear all about her experience. She managed to complete the run in 6.5 hours and we’d like to say a really big thank you to her for her hard work and support of SRSB. It was a huge achievement because she had never been involved in running prior to the race.

Everyone was so impressed by her determination and commitment and she has raised a fantastic amount of over £2,000! Well done Pat!