A FROME man was given the royal seal of approval as he crossed the finishing line of the London Marathon.
Local man Jack Harrington, who was running the marathon to raise money for the spinal cord injury charity Back Up, finished in an impressive time of 4 hours 12 minutes. He was given his medal by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. Jack said, ‘Prince William asked me if I enjoyed it and if my time was 4 hours 20 minutes. It was 4 hours 12 minutes, but I wasn’t going to correct him!”
As well as rasing awareness for the charity Back Up, in the past Jack has also brought attention to other charities that campaign for better support for men with mental health problems, sometimes sharing his own experiences. On the day of the big run Jack was sporting a Head Togethers headband to show support for the campaign that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are spearheading, to try and tackle stigma surrounding mental health.
Jack continued, “I also said thank you to Prince William for being instrumental in raising awareness of better mental health and he said thank you for being an advocate of better mental health and for wearing the Heads Together headband.”
Although he has run marathons before, this was Jack’s first time tackling the iconic London course. Jack said, “It surpassed my expectations and felt like a party atmosphere all the way round, with immense support. If anyone wants to see an event that can restore their faith in humanity, London Marathon would definitely be on the list!
“I would like to run it again at some point, but for me, this year was particularly special running for the Back-Up Charity and also being the first Heads Together Mental Health Marathon.”
So far, Jack has raised £1,700 of his £2,500 target. Jack said, “I’m very happy with the amount that has been raised, but even more so pleased with the awareness it’s caused to people that may have been affected by spinal injury.”
If you would like to contribute to Jack’s fundraiser, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jack-Harrington1988
