About Run for Charlotte
This “Run for Charlotte” website is an accolade to Charlotte Hague-Holmes, a 13 year student from Guernsey,
who was diagnosed with a brain tumour just before Christmas 2008. Charlotte had been suffering from severe “migraines” for two years
before she was scanned at the PEH. She spent just 8 days at The Wessex Neurological Centre (WNC) in Southampton where the tumour was removed successfully. Fortunately, the tumour
was benign, but the road to recovery has been slow since
Charlotte suffered a stroke and some loss of eyesight as a result of the operation. You can read how Charlotte felt about her problems and how she has
faced up to life after her operation by reading
“Charlotte‘s Story”.
On 18th July, Charlotte’s dad, Rupert and 3 colleagues from Close Bank in Guernsey ran 30 miles across Dartmoor with the Royal Marines to raise money for the WNC. A gallery of photographs are attached.
Their memories are set out below:-
“The distance of 30 miles was broken up into 5 legs with 4 checkpoints scattered at various points across Dartmoor. We were lucky to have a strong and dedicated support team of colleagues who met us at every checkpoint with bananas and juice (with diarolyte in it). despite the fact that their GPS guidance and map reading skills left a lot to be desired!
After a weather check the night before confirmed overcast conditions, we set off from Okehampton camp in the north of Dartmoor at about 0900 in good overhead conditions (overcast and cool) but underfoot it was very wet which made the going very tough and slow. We certainly underestimated just how tough Dartmoor would be and there was very little easy terrain, most of the day we were battling with steep hills, bogs, stream crossings, mud, gorse or loose rocky ground. The soreness in our legs, chaffing from the bergans and webbing and blisters on our feet are testament to the difficulty of the 30 miles. Thank goodness we were not required to carry weapons as well!
At Checkpoint 2, we had the added bonus of seeing Neil Westbrook from the charity (who had driven 8 hours to and from Hampshire to meet us!) and being made to eat a Cornish pasty - as regards the latter, we were told that it was Royal Marines tradition to always eat a Cornish pasty and that this could not be broken!
The day was very long bu the Marines were excellent in motivating us along and ensuring that we kept fed and hydrated. Despite this, it still felt lonely at times on Dartmoor and there was an ebb and flow of morale over the course of the day.
When we approached the final bridge the six of us lined up in two by two formation and we 'double timed' across the finish line. This was an emotional moment as we saw our support crew wearing their ‘Run for Charlotte’ T-shirts and each of felt a huge sense of achievement and pride in what we had completed. We were also able to take a moment to reflect and think of the charity and our own reasons for joining the challenge as each of us has been affected by neurological illnesses within our families and the money we raise will help people in situations similar to those our familieshave experienced.”
The team are hoping to raise £40,000 for Smile4Rich, the charity associated with the The Wessex Neurological Centre which provides funding for brain tumour and neurological research.
The Wessex Neurological Centre treats all patients from Guernsey who suffer from brain tumours, epilepsy, haemorrhages or other serious neurological disorders. Although there is a MRI scanner at The Princess Elizabeth Hospital (PEH) in Guernsey, the hospital does not have the specialist expertise to deal with these types of conditions.
You can find out more about the run here