Heroic Henry’s individual run

Henry Worthington was heart-broken when an ankle injury prevented him running the Hastings Half Marathon to raise money for St Michael’s Hospice.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jun 2015, 13:08 GMT
Henry Worthington SUS-150906-113654001Henry Worthington SUS-150906-113654001
Henry Worthington SUS-150906-113654001

Not to be outdone, Henry. 45, decided to go ahead and run the full distance on his own by completing 52 laps of the William Parker Athletic Track.

Race Director Eric Hardwick was full of praise for Henry and said: “Henry was gutted that he was unable to run,and with a lot of sponsorship money for St Michael’s Hospice riding on him.

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“The dedicated attitude and concentration required to accomplish this feat is incredible.

“It was a fantastic effort from Henry and he received his ‘Hastings Brass’ running medal.

Eric joined Henry on a few laps to give him encouragement and he was also joined by Hazel, from the Hastings Arms pub.

Henry started running at 5.44pm on Tuesday May 26 and sprinted across the finish line at 8.20pm – a time of two hours and 36 minutes.

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Marcia Dart of St Michael’s Hospice,kept a check of the number of laps completed,and also ran some of them with Henry.

Henry is a member of the Hastings Runners.

Eric commented: “He is a keen member and the group supports and nurtures him.

“He is a popular member of the group and is known for his warm and friendly personality. He received the Hastings Runners Achievement Award for 2014 for improvement and progress and is hoping to run his first full marathon next year.

“Henry is a real hero, and is now looking forward to collecting all the sponsor money promised, and hopefully more people will also contribute having heard of his exploits.”

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The first Hastings Half Marathon was run in 1985. It has since become a popular race attracting runners from all over England and overseas. This year saw around 3,000 runners making it across the finishing line.

It is organised each year by Hastings Lions Club and raises thousands of pounds for charity and good causes. A total of £112,954 was raised from this year’s event.

Entries are already being invited for the 2016 Hastings Half Marathon on March 20.

To enter visit www.hastings-half.co.uk.

Watch out for the Bexhill Link Road 10K race (BHLR10K) which is planned for late summer this year.

Related topics:St Michael's Hospice