Athletics: Larkhall couple aim to raise over £4000 for CLIC Sargent

Mar 18 2010 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

LARKHALL couple Stewart and Julie Thomson hope to raise over £4000 for a major cancer charity by tackling the London Marathon next month.

Former Larkhall Thistle defender/midfielder Stewart, who turns 38 on Saturday, and Jags physio Julie (33), are running in the April 25 event in aid of CLIC Sargent, a charity specialising in the care of children and young people with cancer.

It’s not a personal crusade for the Lammermuir Wynd couple but Stewart says he would like sons Luke (4) and Alex, who turns one next week, to be well cared for should they need it in the future.

Stewart, a firefighter with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue in Hamilton, said: “I’ve competed in a marathon before but just one. I was fine until the last couple of miles.

“We want to raise awareness and hopefully help CLIC Sargent with fundraising. We’ve set a target of £4000, have about £1000 so far, and have planned a lot of events leading up to the marathon. Hopefully, sponsorship on the day will take us to the total.

“I have competed in the Etape Caledonia before, which is an 81-mile cycle race at Pitlochry for Macmillan Cancer Support, and when we decided to run the London Marathon we looked at the charities available and picked CLIC.

“I don’t have any experience with CLIC. I just like what they do because it’s like what Macmillan do, only for children.

“We’ve got two young boys and if anything happened to them I’d like them to be well looked after.”

Stewart says he and Julie will be well prepared for the gruelling trek and are in intensive training.

He commented: “I’m not nervous at all and neither’s Julie, although it’s her first marathon.

“We’ve both put the training in and I know what to expect because I’ve been over the course before.

“We’ve been training for 16 weeks, which has seen us go up to 16- and 18-mile runs. We’ll go up to a 23-mile run before the event but they tell you to taper off before it to keep some energy.

“We’ve got a few weeks to prepare, so I think we’ll be fine.”

Stewart has a lot of experience with Larkhall Thistle, having played in almost every position possible, but perhaps naively doesn’t think he’s going to get much stick for his racing attire on the day.

“I’m running in a nurse’s uniform,” he said. “CLIC Sargent were looking for ideas on some funny outfits and I decided to go for it for a laugh.

“I bought the uniform for about £10-15, which goes straight to the charity, and I think it will be fun.

“I’m sure the boys will be fine, and if they give me a bit of stick I’ll kick them. I’m known for that anyway!”

Anyone willing to sponsor the Thomsons can do so by visiting: www.justgiving.com/Julie-Thomson1