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Runner Nicola Bryan raises £855 for WAR in the London marathon Ms Nicola Bryan, a supporter of WAR, kindly decided to fundraise for us when she ran the marathon in April. She trained for many months with the Victoria Park Harriers in East London, and had to overcome a serious injury just a month before the marathon. But in the event, she finished in an incredible three hours and 21 minutes - just six minutes short of the "elite" runners. Well done! When Nicola brought us the money she'd raised, volunteers crowded round eager to ask her about the marathon. Here's an extract of what she told us. "Doing the marathon for WAR was very special to me. I did the run for two reasons. The first is I wanted to pay WAR back. I'd heard of them through a friend and they really helped me when I was getting ready to face my attacker in court. What WAR does is really important and it's not recognised enough. The second reason is that I was training six days a week and that gave me the opportunity to do something physical. It's not for everyone, but it has really helped me. Instead of staying home in a mess and feeling really angry, running gave me a great sense of achievement. Especially when I was running the actual marathon. I felt quietly please with myself. At first I was nervous about asking people to sponsor me, because I had to say it was for Women Against Rape. People's reactions were surprising too. A lot of people reacted awkwardly, because the word rape is still a taboo. That's why it's important to keep saying it and making it visible. Just saying your name has done me good too." Thank you Nicola. |