For some, the summer holidays mean a number of weeks to rest, relax – perhaps head off on holiday or start a job. However, for Sixth Former pupil Matt Godwin, even a family holiday to St Lucia couldn’t keep him from his goal this summer; running seven marathons in seven days. Starting at Thames Head in Cirencester, Matt planned on running a marathon every day for a week, so that by Sunday he had run the entire length of the Thames Path. And Matt had a charitable component as well; his amazing feat of endurance was done in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Matt steadfastly worked his way along the 184-mile path, from the source of the Thames all the way through the country, to the Thames Barrier in London. Running an average of 26.2 miles was no easy task, and the occasional wrong turn meant that some days Matt ended up running further than that! Matt had set himself a target of completing each marathon in five hours, and a support team of his parents met him at the end of each day. Planning the route for each day was no doubt as difficult as the execution of the challenge itself, and Matt had planned it down to a tee. An eight-week training plan preceded the epic stunt, and Matt battled through school work, early mornings and Henley Royal Regatta training to ensure that he kept to his training plan.
On the Thursday of what was arguably the toughest week of his life to date, Matt ran past Shiplake. A team of supporters was waiting by the river to cheer him on, and, despite being visibly drained, Matt was determined to continue with his challenge. Matt commented: ‘the challenge itself was more of a mental one than a physical one; I’ve learned that your body will do pretty much anything you tell it to do, as long as your mind is positive and strong. When my legs and blisters were in agony and telling me to stop, it was very hard to keep a positive mind, but you had to. I have been very lucky to have had a very healthy and happy childhood, and I have since realised that not all children are as fortunate as I have been. I felt that it was unfair of me not to try and do anything about this. Knowing the work that Great Ormond Street Hospital does for so many children, I knew this would be the charity that I wanted to support.’ As for any plans for the future? Matt intends to continue fundraising; having raised nearly £3000 for GOSH with this challenge, he is aware of the importance of fundraising. Next on his list is the Marathon des Sables, which takes place across the Sahara Desert and is billed as the toughest footrace on earth.