IN June 2018, four King’s Ely teachers – Richard Oliver, Alison Stewart, Claire Kyndt and Amanda Kippax – ran the Uganda Marathon and that year the school community raised a whopping £23,500 for the Uganda Marathon charity and the Friends of Mengo Hospital charity, both of which work tirelessly to tackle poverty in the Eastern African country.
On May 30th, Mr Oliver, Mrs Stewart, Miss Kyndt and Miss Kippax reunited – virtually – to mark the fact it has been two years since they ran the marathon and to support the Uganda Marathon team and their efforts to help families in Masaka, a town in Uganda that has been badly affected by Covid-19.
Having done very little prior training, most of the team opted out of the full marathon distance, although Miss Kyndt did cover it on her bike, albeit with an ice cream stop in the middle! Mr Oliver and Mrs Stewart both ran a half marathon. Mr Oliver took on the early morning streets of an empty Cambridge, while Mrs Stewart was supported on her fen route by her daughter cycling alongside her. Miss Kippax took on the heat of the midday sun and walked 13.1 miles.
Mrs Stewart said: “It was a great opportunity for us to reflect on what was a life-changing trip back in 2018, and it brought back many happy memories. It was also an opportunity to remember that even though the last two months have been extremely hard here in the UK, in some countries it has caused devastation in a way that will take a long time to recover from. It was great to have the team back in action, who knows what the next adventure will be…”