It was 70 miles he might never run again but Cameron Peel’s grin remained as big as his personality after an ultramarathon run close to Hadrian’s Wall finished in the wee small hours of Sunday morning.
The 31-year-old digger driver from Corbridge in Northumberland sounded on top of the world as he described why he took on the Rat Race Hadrian’s Wall Run to raise money for the ME Association:
“I did it for my younger cousin Kate. She's the smart one in the family, who’s not been able to develop her potential ever since she went down with flu when she was 10 and never really recovered. It then took a long time to get her diagnosis of ME. She missed a whole lot of school and had to get a wheelchair.
“We’re a big family and we do miss her not being right in the middle of everything we do!”
Cameron has never run so far before and he was thrilled to be among the 800 runners who made it from the start at Carlisle Castle to the the finish line in Gateshead. It’s thought that almost 600 others dropped out.
“Where I finished wasn’t important. I was just pleased to have done it!”
The 26-hour race saw Cameron flop into bed at 5am on Sunday morning before getting up at 10 to face the new day.
“There were regular pit stops and I thought at one stage that the wheels had really fallen off the waggon. But after 15-minute breaks and taking on refreshment, I eased myself back into each stage – walking at first until I found my rhythm and began running again, ” he told us on Tuesday.
Cameron said he started taking an interest in running back in 2021. He went from “couch to 5k” with a run in Hexham that year and then took part in two of everybody’s favourite, the Great North Run – each time raising money for a different charity.
“On Sunday, I spent the day aching and almost completely out of it. The race left me with a pair of worn-out running shoes, one black and blue big toe with the nail dropping off and a bit of a blister”.
Will he take on another ultramarathon in the future? “Oh, I don’t know. Too soon to say. Let’s just say that, if this is what top athletic performance looks like, then so be it!”
Thanks, Cameron. You're a man who obviously takes everything in his stride and we're in awe of your achievement.
Cameron's fundraising page is still open if you would like to make a donation. Please visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/camerons-fundraiser
Pictured, left to right, at the Walltown Quarry pit stop 24 miles into the run: Cameron's mum Susan Tulip, cousin Jodie Broadwell, aunty Gillian Dickinson, cousin Emma Dickinson, the big man himself, sister Ailsa Tulip, son Benjamin Voyzey, fiancée Ellen Voyzey and daughter Poppy Peel.
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
