Final year BA (Hons) Business Studies with Finance student Rhiannon Van Ross has completed two marathons in a week to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Along with her sister Hannah, she ran the Brighton Marathon on 15 April and the London Marathon on 22 April, clocking up an impressive 52 miles in total.
Preparation for the marathon has been challenging; as she approaches the end of the final year of her degree she has been getting up at 5:30am to go for 3 hour runs, whilst working hard to finish her dissertation and keep up with other work deadlines. She is the first to admit it hasn’t been easy but as she says, “it is all for an incredible cause.”
Cystic Fibrosis is an incurable disease which affects 9,000 people and is one of the most common, life-threatening, inherited diseases in the UK. It is close to Rhiannon’s heart and it is her passion for the cause that has kept her focused on her goal. Her best friend Laura Visick suffers from the disease and Rhiannon describes her as an “inspiration”. Like her, Laura also studied at Bournemouth University, achieving a first class BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism degree, despite having to make a number of hospital visits during her final year.
Rhiannon completed the Brighton marathon in 4 hours and 20 minutes but after a week of pain with frequent visits to a physiotherapist, the London marathon proved to be a lot tougher, taking an hour longer. However, after tearing a tendon on the 15th mile of her second marathon and spending 30 stressful minutes with the St John’s Ambulance team, her determination still pulled her through; “even if I was going to crawl over the finish line nothing was going to stop me.”
A fantastic £2,356 has been raised by Rhiannon and Hannah so far, and donations are still coming in. Rhiannon has said “the pride has massively outweighed the pain and if it wasn’t for everyone that has sponsored us none of this would have been possible”.
The sisters are already planning their next fundraising events, a half marathon in June and July followed by the Beachy Head full marathon in October.
Well done Rhiannon and Hannah!!
If you’d like to make a donation, please visit Rhiannon’s Virgin Money Giving page >>
