Steve's £10000 Christmas Gift

Everyone’s favourite Perth running man, Steve Bonthrone, has run and cycled 1000 miles in the past year with his eye firmly on five, glorious figures. His goal was to raise £10,000 for Macmillan and this week, he and wife Allison smashed their target.

Unless you’ve had your head in a cloud or your body hidden under a blackout duvet, you will have seen or heard about Perth man Steve Bonthrone’s marathon challenge.  Steve set himself a goal to cover 850 miles between the Paris Marathon in April and the Loch Ness Marathon in September and ended up doing 1000 miles!

Together with his wife Allison - who, had set her own 'Three Marathon' goal - Steve kick started the challenge in Paris. His first big boost came in late May when he completed all four of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival races – that’s a 5k, a 10k, a Half Marathon and a Marathon in ONE weekend!

Allison also ran the Edinburgh Marathon although she was carrying an injury that eventually took its toll and forced her to pull out of the Loch Ness Marathon in September. Not one to be outdone, she started cycling for the first time since childhood and took part in the Scone Palace Cycletta in October to complete her fundraising.                                  

Alongside running Steve coached a team of four runners who completed the Edinburgh Marathon Relay, there was an all-day Relaxathon from Karen McGillvray, a summer pub quiz at The Abbotsford Lounge Bar, a FitSteps class with Dawn Gillies at Inspire Studio and, bizarrely, several online auctions selling fishing flies from Ian Christie at Flybox.co.uk. (side note : Every time I type that man’s name it is with a bizarre fact attached to it… he may need to take the hot seat soon!) 

Steve and Allison set out to raise £6K but when they charged through this target back in July they decided a nice, fat, five figure sum before Christmas would be the perfect way to end their incredible journey.

This week they smashed through that target and will hand over a cheque for £10,000+ to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Shirlie Geddes from Macmillan helped us put that into perspective. 

£10,000 can pay for a Macmillan Nurse, helping people living with cancer and their families receive essential medical, practical and emotional support, for three months 

Steve and Allison set their amazing challenge after Steve lost his Dad last year and Allison lost both her grandparents in recent years to cancer.  They both knew that they had to find a positive out of the hurt and loss and with this, they made a decision to help more people receive the support that is essential when going through cancer, just as their families received support when they needed it.

To everyone who has helped Steve and Allison, either with a sponsor, a donation of a prize, a helping hand, a message of support, a big cheer on, a wave and a smile or a toot from a car as you’ve driven past them while they've been out pounding the streets, Thank You.  You have made their triumph possible.

Back in September Steve chatted to us for the #BigPersonality blog.  Here’s what he said:

“It has all been overwhelming but really, the highlight has been the people I’ve met along the way. They tell me how inspired they’ve felt following the story and how much it has helped them stay motivated. It doesn’t feel like I’ve done anything spectacular but then I hear these people and I see it in a different light. What Allison has achieved is probably more impressive than anything I've done."

“It’s not just been about the running, or the training or even raising the money. It’s been about the amazing help from others and opening my mind up to the idea that anything is possible. Because of course, it is and the journey along the way has been truly amazing.”  

And that, people, is how you start a very, merry Festive Season.  

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Steve and Allison would like to give personal thanks to everyone who assisted with special mention to:

• Both their families
• Friend, Ian Christie for his Flybox.co.uk Auctions
• Relay Marathon Runners Kirstin Wilson, Gail Greenwood, Lucy Orr and Anna Nowakowska
• Karen McGillvray for the Massage Relaxathon
• Fraser Band for the lift from the Edinburgh half marathon back to the start of the Marathon
• Dawn Gillies for the FitSteps class
• Local Press for their support and coverage of the cause
• Chick Dougan at The Abbotsford Lounge Bar for his excellent quizmaster skills
• All local businesses who donated a prize or gift for the raffle

I'm sure everyone will join me in a resounding Thank-You back to Steve and Allison for their commitment to their goal.