Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Heather Woodward Runs the Morrisons Great Edinburgh Run for the JWT
A post from Heather Woodward who was in Jo's year and house at Gordonstoun, about running the Morrisons Great Edinburgh Run, in aid of the Jo Walters Trust, which she did last month (April 2015). We're really grateful to Heather for raising so much money - £872.50 - but also for her lovely write up of the run, and finding such an appropriate way to remember Jo. Thank you Heather!
I should start by saying I am not a runner. This time last year, running 10 meters was something of a challenge and so running 10 miles seemed like something only crazy people did. However, annoyingly, as the lasting life lesson goes that most Old Gordonstounians remember, "plus est en vous", there is more in you. That can very much be said about Jo and it is sad to say that I didn't know just how much Jo had done until hearing about it at her funeral. It was inspiring.
It's been 15 years since a set of bright eyed (slightly cheeky) Hopeman girls left school to go out into the big bad world and so we thought that was about time to attempt a reunion. One of us was already running in the Morrisons Great Edinburgh Run, so Edinburgh seemed a good enough place as any to bring us all together. Having spent so many years all living under the same roof, it wouldn't have been right for us to have met up and not acknowledged Jo's absence and so along with regaling the various stories about us all over drinks, I decided to "run" the Morrisons Great Edinburgh Run for The Jo Walters Trust.
The hills, oh my, the hills. 4.25 miles uphill, 5.75 miles downhill. I think I earned every penny of donations on those Edinburgh inclines. Each family member, friend or colleague that sponsored me pushed me a little further, made me run that little bit longer and got me over the finish line.
I'm really glad that I ran it for The Jo Walters Trust. Jo seems to have been such an inspiration that I am glad to have been able to contribute to a cause which is carrying on her ethos. Although I'm not sure that I will take on Edinburgh again, I'll definitely look out for other opportunities to help the cause, and for anyone who is thinking of fundraising for The Jo Walters Trust, do it. I don't think I will ever be as outgoing, charitable or fearless as Jo but in this, I get to be a little bit closer to it.
Heather Woodward
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| Heather Woodward, looking surprisingly cheerful for someone running uphill! |
I should start by saying I am not a runner. This time last year, running 10 meters was something of a challenge and so running 10 miles seemed like something only crazy people did. However, annoyingly, as the lasting life lesson goes that most Old Gordonstounians remember, "plus est en vous", there is more in you. That can very much be said about Jo and it is sad to say that I didn't know just how much Jo had done until hearing about it at her funeral. It was inspiring.
It's been 15 years since a set of bright eyed (slightly cheeky) Hopeman girls left school to go out into the big bad world and so we thought that was about time to attempt a reunion. One of us was already running in the Morrisons Great Edinburgh Run, so Edinburgh seemed a good enough place as any to bring us all together. Having spent so many years all living under the same roof, it wouldn't have been right for us to have met up and not acknowledged Jo's absence and so along with regaling the various stories about us all over drinks, I decided to "run" the Morrisons Great Edinburgh Run for The Jo Walters Trust.
The hills, oh my, the hills. 4.25 miles uphill, 5.75 miles downhill. I think I earned every penny of donations on those Edinburgh inclines. Each family member, friend or colleague that sponsored me pushed me a little further, made me run that little bit longer and got me over the finish line.
I'm really glad that I ran it for The Jo Walters Trust. Jo seems to have been such an inspiration that I am glad to have been able to contribute to a cause which is carrying on her ethos. Although I'm not sure that I will take on Edinburgh again, I'll definitely look out for other opportunities to help the cause, and for anyone who is thinking of fundraising for The Jo Walters Trust, do it. I don't think I will ever be as outgoing, charitable or fearless as Jo but in this, I get to be a little bit closer to it.
Heather Woodward