Marathon runner earns place in Scouting history
A Scout Leader marathon runner with the 25th Beech Hill ISB Scout Group has secured his place in Scouting history after a gruelling seven hour run in London.
Abbas Sultan ran the Virgin London Marathon on St George’s Day to raise funds for a much-needed Beaver Colony in his group. His time of 7:30:43 hours from Greenwich to the gates of Buckingham Palace hides a tale of supreme effort, hardship and bravery. The last half of the race was run on will power alone.
He completed the half marathon in 2:47 hours but then the infamous wall hit him and he just had his grit and determination to carry him the final 13 miles at half his early pace.
Abbas explained, “The start at Greenwich with 40,000 runners was worse than an early morning traffic jam on the M1. It took over half an hour to clear the start point and get down to the serious job of running to a strict timetable.”
“Crossing the finishing line at Buckingham Palace was the most exciting time of my life,” said Abbas.
With help from all his friends on the fund raising site ‘Just Giving’, Abbas has just reached his £1,000 target with more to come.
His Scout Group are especially proud of this volunteer leader and his marathon effort and can’t wait to see his Finisher Medal. They said, “We are all so proud of you. May the angels write you down as one who ran at speed to help others.”
