A number of inspirational women from Helston area completed the 'Virtual London Marathon' last weekend, with creative interpretations involving cake, car parks and 'cycling musketeers'.
Following the cancellation of the event last April, the women joined 43,000 people from 109 countries running the replacement event 'virtually', using a course of their choice rather than the capital’s streets whilst raising money for their chosen charities.
Gemma Priest raised over £1,800 for Sense, a national charity that supports people who are deafblind and those with complex disabilities. Gemma raised the money through an online fundraiser and through recycling items that would otherwise end up in landfill and auctioning cake squares.
Following the cancellation of last April's official event, Gemma completed her own marathon by cycling 26 miles in the local area, but she was determined to run it this time. Her route included four laps of the Tesco car park in Helston and she was joined for support at different points along the way by friends Vickie and Sean.
Vickie,Gemma and Sean. Picture: Kathy White
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Gemma said: "Emotionally this year has been extremely challenging for many, but one of the greatest things I've learnt is mind over matter.
"If you have a positive attitude you can achieve far greater than you can imagine."
Glennie Mckinley and Hannah Dutchak took part in last weekend's marathon but interpreted it in their own way - as a 'Cornish Cake-athon'.
They raised £120 for McMillian and approximately £1,000 in food donations for the Street Food Project.
As Hannah's birthday coincided with the date, the pair decided to make cake an integral part of their efforts.
Glennie Mckinley and Hannah Dutchak part way along their 'Cake-athon'
Speaking before the marathon, Glennie said: "The idea is to combine our favourite things - cake, running, laughter and more cake.
"The aim is to visit some of our favourite local cake spots, enjoy lots of yummy cake, oh, and a little run between each stop!
"We are so fortunate that we can go and enjoy all these cake stops on our run without a second thought, whilst some people are struggling to find a basic meal each night. We promise to give it our all, we will run, walk, crawl(!), laugh, cry, and eat plenty of cake!"
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Following completion of the run, Glennie added: "To be honest we didn’t train at all. Hannah this year had run ten miles at the most and me 13 miles.
"Hannah made me do it as it was her birthday and informed me that there was cake, I'm easily led!
"The highlight was seeing friends and family along the way cheering us on, that was priceless. It wasn’t about doing it in a fast time it was about fun, laughter and cake!"
Rachel Wallis and Sharon Kinsella
Rachel Wallis and Sharon Kinsella completed their virtual marathon around the Lizard Peninsula in just over four and a half hours.
Rachel, who raised over £650 for VICTA, a charity empowering blind children and young adults, said: "What an amazing 24 hours it’s been!
"Completing the Virtual London Marathon yesterday and being overwhelmed by the number of good luck wishes, messages and all the people who took the time and made the effort to come and cheer us on. "Doing it at home surrounded by all our family and friends was awesome, as were our three cycling musketeers keeping us entertained with music and chat all the way. A day to remember forever."
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