Law and District AAC's Richard Beattie completes marathon effort despite knee agony

Law and District AAC marvel Richard Beattie battled agonising pain in his right knee to complete a 26.2 mile marathon out his back garden in Cleghorn on Sunday, the day the London Marathon would have been staged but for the coronavirus crisis.
Richard Beattie has already raised over 1600 for good causesRichard Beattie has already raised over 1600 for good causes
Richard Beattie has already raised over 1600 for good causes

Streamed live on Facebook, the initiative saw Richard run 494 laps in a fabulous time of 4hrs 37mins, raising money for three good causesalong the way – Guide Dogs, Children with Cancer and Law and District AAC.

Richard said: “I’m lucky that the ‘course’ was a relatively big circle (about 93m), so dizziness wasn’t going to be an issue.

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“But I realised quickly that some camber at the back of the garden when I made the turn meant the legs could be heading for some difficulty.

“By 30km in, this theory had turned into full blown reality and every stride on my right knee was agony.

“Between the pain of the knee and the never ending circles, the last 12km was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life.

“Thankfully, although I was missing the mass crowds on the streets, I had incredible support from neighbours, passers by and the Facebook Live community who were watching from their homes.

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“From New Zealand, Australia, America and all across the UK, I had messages of support relayed to me throughout the run and without doubt that was a massive reason I made it round the full marathon distance.”

Richard, who was encouraged by wife Jen and kids Cora, Jude and Sebastian, is trying to complete 40 official timed races including marathons, half marathons, 10Ks and other mixed distances, before his 40th birthday on December 8, 2020.

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