I completed the Neolithic Marathon in 4 hours 45 minutes and was placed 189th out of 350 runners. It was hard from 16 miles onwards but I am pleased to say I ran the whole thing including the 700m of hill climbing. My friend James Foster also ran and finished 133rd. The weather was great and a good day was had by all. On one of the pictures below you can just make out Stonehenge between my and Jim's heads! 

 

I would like to thank everyone for their generous sponsorship and support which is much appreciated. Together we have exceeded the £1000 fundraising target set. I know SOS Children's Villages will be very pleased to receive this and I hope that Dick and Enid Eyeington will be happy that their names and important work live on.

 

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On 6th May I will be running the my first marathon to raise money for SOS Children's Villages in Swaziland in memory of my friends Dick and Enid Eyeington. The Neolithic is a cross country marathon with 700m of ascent, finishing at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. It should be a great day assuming I dont end up in hospital!

 

In 1990/1 I worked as a teacher at Waterford School in Swaziland, Southern Africa and was involved in community service projects assisting the SOS Childrens Village nearby. SOS Villages provide family based care to 70,000 abandoned and orphaned children worldwide and I was able to see first hand the excellent work they do. Swaziland has the highest AIDS rate in the world with one quarter of adults infected. One can imagine the SOS Villages services are in great demand.

 

Dick and Enid Eyeington were a British couple who dedicated their lives to the care and education of children in Africa. They were childhood sweethearts, meeting at grammar school in County Durham and attending Durham University together. After a period working in Tanzania and Britain, they left to work in Swaziland where they would stay for 32 years. Dick Eyeington became Head Teacher of Waterford School and later the National Director of SOS Villages Swaziland. Enid Eyeington, a nurse, ran the community service programme at Waterford School and worked to combat AIDS in Swaziland. Dick and Enid were two exceptionally kind, talented and energetic individuals who dedicated their lives to improve the lives of others.

 

Tragically Dick and Enid were murdered in 2003 while working for SOS Villages in Somalia. This shocking loss was felt deeply by me and many hundreds of others, whose lives had been had been touched and enriched by the Eyeingtons.

 

Lord Richard Attenborough was a trustee of Waterford School and a close friend of the Eyeingtons. He said of them “I have never known two people who so consistently put their beliefs into action… the good they did during their lifetime today resonates in a multitude of hearts and minds and will continue to do so for many generations to come.”

 

Profile of Dick and Enid Eyeington.

 

Please give generously to this important cause.

 

Many thanks!

 

Chris Urwin