On 1st January 2015 – ‘New Knee’s Day’ – Margaret Clark, chairman of the Cherry Lodge trustees, took part in – and successfully completed – the Brooks Serpentine 10k around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. She was one of 466 participants, of whom 196 were women.
For many years, Margaret always enjoyed running in the annual New Year’s Day 10k event in Hyde Park and raising money for Cherry Lodge by getting people to sponsor her. Unfortunately, following her total knee replacement in 2014, she was told by her consultant that running was no longer an option for her. Margaret, however, was determined to do the 2015 Serpentine New Year’s Day 10k nonetheless – and so this year she walked the course, completing it in 1 hour 46 minutes and 36 seconds.
Thank you from Margaret to all the people who sponsored her either by adding their names to one of her sponsorship forms, or online using Tina Papasavva’s JustGiving page for Cherry Lodge. Margaret was delighted to raise a total of £1406, which was considerably more than she expected.
Margaret’s personal account of the day
The problem with doing the 10k today, 1st January 2015, was not actually covering the distance. The real issue was having to cope with the icy cold wind blowing across the Serpentine, making it very difficult attaching the safety pins to the running bib. As for fixing the electronic chip to the running shoe, that’s another story. This was the 10th time I have done this particular race as a CL fundraising event. On this occasion I walked instead of ran which meant I was pretty lonely at the finish, although there were still people to welcome me home!
Click on the thumbnail pictures below to see larger, complete photographs.
