Poppy Denison-Smith gathered family and friends round her for the Dorney Lake Half Marathon – notching up a fabulous result for the ME Association.
And this morning, Poppy dropped another £45 into her online account to round her total up to £15,000 exactly. This makes her half marathon one of the charity’s most successful one-off fundraisers in recent memory.
To top everything up, her father Simon – who set up a highly successful equity strategy business a few years ago – has added another £1,000 from his company, Metropolis Capital Ltd. So her grand total now stands at £16,000.
Poppy, who’s studying for an applied psychology Master’s degree at Exeter University, ran the Dorney Lake Half Marathon in Buckinghamshire for us on 8th June.
Both her mum and dad ran it, as did relatives and friends. Others gathered by the lakeside – where spectators watched rowing events in the 2012 London Olympics – simply to cheer them on as #TeamPoppy ran round the lake several times.
Runner’s World magazine says of the course “…what it lacks in variety in terms of stunning scenery – the route is 4.5 laps round the lake – it makes up for the in the fact that the route is wide, flat and almost purpose-built for cracking out a PB…”
On her fundraising page, Poppy wrote:
“This endeavour is more than just a physical challenge; it's a personal mission to make a difference in the lives of those affected by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
“My brother Freddie is one of the many people who suffer from this debilitating condition.
“His journey with ME has been incredibly tough; he has faced months of immobility and pain, which led to him being hospitalised for several weeks.
“Watching someone so close to me struggle without a cure has been heart-wrenching and has motivated me to take action.”
Thank you every so much, Poppy and your team, for taking on this challenge, and – as we can see from the photos – for enjoying it so much!
If you would add something more to Poppy’s total, please visit:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/poppy-denison-smith-1712229907366
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
