Celebration of Marathon des Sables Achievement
ENF Chair and Founder, Elsie Normington, along with Interim Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Murray, received a sum of £7071 on behalf of the charity with thankful hearts and great gratitude to Catherine and Michael Prendergast on completing such an epic challenge and choosing to raise the money for the work of ENF.
Law student Catherine Prendergast along with her brother Michael raised above their aimed target, having successful completed the Marathon des Sables The Legendary. It is one of the world’s most challenging ultramarathons: a 250km race in the desert in Morocco, carrying all necessary kit along the way.
Catherine shared how both her and Michael were motivated to raise money for the Elsie Normington Foundation as their brother Andrew has been receiving short break stays at the Haven Suites. As a family, they are so grateful for this service providing Andrew with opportunities of independence and their parents with a much-needed respite break from care duties.
Catherine said:
“Michael and I ran together every step of the way for 250km, from start to finish. Our backpacks on day one were around 15kg so the weight was considerable as we ran up and down sand dunes, scrambling on hands and knees at points.
We both found the penultimate day to be the toughest. By this point, we had been in the desert for 7 days and had very little sleep. Our bodies were drained and all reserves had been used. This day included 42km of continuous sand dunes and with every step, we could feel the blisters popping inside our socks.
We reminded ourselves of why we were taking on this immense challenge and the benefit our fundraising would bring to many adults like Andrew.”
We are so grateful to Catherine and Michael for choosing to support ENF, allowing us to continue to provide this important service to families.
Due to work commitments abroad, Michael was unfortunately unable to be with us, but we celebrated their wonderful achievement with Catherine, Andrew and the rest of the family at the Haven Centre, and enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea, provided by the Haven Café.