One down – seven more to go! And we’re thrilled to let you know that Jack Hewitt completed the first of his ‘Eight for a Mate!’ series of marathons across Australia earlier today.
“First marathon done!”, said the 28-year-old Brit, who moved to Sydney at the beginning of last year to enjoy the Australian lifestyle. Across the whole of 2025, he will be running to raise money for both the ME Association and ME/CFS Australia.
Earlier today, he ran in the Cadbury Marathon in Tasmania. It was 26 miles and a bit of hard running from the Cadbury estate at Claremont, near Hobart, along the Brooker Highway and past the island’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), across the bridge over the River Derwent and then doubling back to the Cadbury factory.
“My only previous marathon, in October 2024, I ran in 3:32. I had not trained as much for this one (being pretty busy over the holidays and having had some niggles in my knees and left ankle) so I was expecting 3:45-4:00. I’m happy with under 4 hours. It was a bit tough I have to say.
“Despite knowing that I wouldn’t be able to run a 3:30 marathon, I ploughed ahead with that pacing (perhaps foolishly). This lasted pretty well for the first 23km or so, then my pace began to slip. From 30km it was hard work. It started to get hot too.
“I got cramp in my hamstrings at 37.5km and again a couple of kilometres later. This is only the second time I have ever had cramp while running – the first time was at the end of a long run when I was surprisingly confronted with several kilometres along a beach (catastrophic route planning on my part). Behind that run, the marathon today was the second hardest run I have done. There was an unwelcome hill right at the end of the marathon, then I crossed the finish line in just under four hours.
“A huge thank you to Tate, Amy and Frankie (my official content providers) for supporting me.
Photos show Jack in action in Tasmania today, with his best mate Freddie while they were both studying at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and a map of the Cadbury Marathon route.
“Looking forward to a bit of a break from running while I travel Tasmania for the next two weeks to rest my slightly-injured legs. After that, it will be back to training, including (hopefully), some physio and strength training for my pesky knees and left ankle. Then Canberra 13th April!‘
“I’m off up the east coast tomorrow (Maria Island, then on to Bicheno).”
Jack is running to raise money for both the ME Association and ME/CFS Australia – and to honour his best friend from Oxford University days, Freddie Denison-Smith, who is severely ill with ME
He wrote extensively about Freddie’s plight a few days ago in an ME Association blog: you can read it HERE.
Jack, a former TV wildlife documentary researcher when he was living in the UK, will be running another seven ME charity marathons across Australia this year. He will be running in every state and territory of the huge continent and also in the federal capital of Canberra.
Jack is also enjoying a remarkable run of fundraising success. Since 6th January, when he launched his fundraising for the ME Association and ME/CFS Australia, his JustGiving page alone has raised well over £9,000 for the ME Association.
If you would like to make a contribution, please visit his ME Association fundraiser HERE.
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Volunteer, The ME Association
fundraising@meassociation.org.uk
