Christine raises £4,500 for local schools

Christine Milton, licensee of the Kings Arms, on Fore Street in Salcombe, is celebrating running the incredible distance between Lands’ End and John O’Groats this week, while also raising £4,500 for charity. Christine ran an average of 22km a day to complete the 1,744km (1083miles) challenge in just 79 days, 12 days quicker than she had planned.

Christine’s fundraising efforts will go to the local Salcombe Preschool and Salcombe Church of England Primary School, which saw all four of her children through their educations, with both her grandchildren now attending.

Inspired by a sixtieth birthday gift of a Conqueror Virtual Challenge from her sister-in-law, Christine covered the distance by running on trails around Salcombe sometimes running as many as 50km in a day. Although an avid runner, the sheer volume of miles and the time needed to run them in was a challenge in itself. Luckily Christine had the support of friends and family, particularly close friend Vicky Carpenter, to help her along the way.

Christine said: “As with all long distance running the challenge is as much mental as it is physical. And the first ten days were definitely the hardest as both my body and my mind got used to running such long distances every single day. I’m absolutely delighted to have completed the challenge, however.

“Since schools have started to reopen, I’ve been struck by the amazing teams of people that run our local primary school and preschool. Not only that but I think it’s our children that have really suffered over the last year or so, missing out on those integral months at school, so I really hope the money I’ve raised can go some way to improving their environment now they are back.”

Christine runs the Kings Arms, home of the Boatswains Brasserie and the Fish Bar restaurants, in the centre of Salcombe with her husband Pete, sons, Luke and Tom, as well as her daughter-in-law, Hatty.

Donations can still be made via Christine’s GoFundMe page, which can be found here: https://gofund.me/8a601598.