Team Tortoise aim for £8,000 in not so fast-paced race

Team Tortoise are turning Holderness into a race route for charity. 

Setting off from the cycle path on the old railway line at Hornsea on October 3, the eight friends and family members are taking part in the virtual 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon to raise money for Guillain Barré & Associated Neuropathies (GAIN).

Team member Paul Waine, managing director of Hull business RE:Group, contracted Guillain Barré Syndrome in 2008 - a rare illness affecting the peripheral nerves. He was in hospital for 14 weeks and it left him temporarily paralysed.

He is joined by: Mark Eggleston, managing director of WJ
Group; Mark’s daughters Lucy Eggleston who is a physiotherapist and Millie Eggleston, a doctor; Mark’s brother Richard Eggleston, managing director of Approved Pharma Solutions Ltd; Mark’s brother-in-law, Mike Wright, owner of North Bar Homes; Sam Havler, a physiotherapist and Paul’s son Henry, a Lead Product Owner at Jet2.

The team will convene at the halfway point at Hull’s Spyvee Street before turning round to complete the 26.2-mile race which will be the biggest marathon ever staged anywhere in the world.

Talking about the name for his team, Paul said that Moxie the Tortoise
holds the important role of the GAIN charity mascot to reflect the grit and determination needed on a Guillain Barré Syndrome sufferer’s journey. “However, with five of us aged over 50, it’s appropriate to refer to ourselves as tortoises, although we are assuming the younger ones will set a faster pace for us!” 

He added that the medical qualifications and experience held by four of the Team Tortoise members, meant that they couldn’t be in safer hands.

“We are all hoping to reach our £8,000 target, so please give generously and help to raise awareness of this dreadful illness.”

An original team of five, comprising Paul, Mark, Richard, Sam and Lucy, ran together for charity in 2016 taking on the Hull Marathon and Great North Run.

Paul raised £23,000 running in the London Triathlon in 2010 after months of rehabilitation and being helped by Mark and Sam, but he says the challenge of running the virtual London Marathon more that 10 years later is daunting. “Let’s just say I’m currently focusing on training!” he says.

If anyone would like to ‘unofficially’ join the group, running or cycling, please contact Paul Waine jpauld.waine@gmail.com

GAIN provides information and assistance, funds research and raises awareness of the Guillain Barré  Syndrome. More information can be found at www.gaincharity.org.uk