Team Spirit (1999 London Marathon)
Tony Montfort and Alan Fernandes, perhaps encouraged by the successful fundraising by their team of a dozen in 1998, decided to field a team of some 30 runners for 1999. One of the objects of the exercise was to raise funds for a bush radio station for villagers in Zambia. The radio station will enable villagers to receive an education on Air: for example teaching improved methods of growing crops and working together as a team for the common good of improving their food supplies. Tony and Alan worked to bring their Jesuit Mission Marathon runners together as a team for 1999. This was started early in the year and in the day, by Alan cajoling us to join his training runs around Richmond Park at 7:4S am on Sunday mornings from January to March. Gently at first the runs were once round the park's seven mile perimeter path but then increased with the team's fitness, to twice round at fourteen miles Mile stint. Long runs soon began to make us gel into a team, mainly of men, however on the one occasion Alan introduced a female runner to the Richmond Park training session, she finished first! Further team spirit was inspired by Alan inviting us all to take breakfast together with family and friends, at a Wimbledon Village pub after the Richmond Park runs. Perhaps there are few other public houses in the country which could boast of regular gatherings of so many Jesuits and friends and without a single drop of alcohol in sight. One of the team at the time was a hairdresser and upon needing a haircut, the team spirit caused me to venture into his dad's barbers' shop in Raynes Park. His father when Receiving payment for a great haircut, said to all present, including his son, that “there must be better ways of loving Jesus than running miles for him.” But this team spirit spread well beyond the runners. Friends, parishioners, neighbours and people at work all responded with much enthusiasm by promising sponsorship monies to enable us in the developed first world, team up with those in the third world and together get that radio station built. Sponsorship donations ranging from a 9 year old's £1 .50p pocket money to a Trust's €750, began to come in. One runner's 83 year old mother, Mrs Noble, teamed up to write dozens of letters asking for sponsorship. Appeals made in the parish, in shopping centres and through TV interviews of the Womble members of the Team whilst actually on the run during the Marathon, began to bear fruit. Although Tony indicates that we still have some way to go yet a good start has been made towards reaching the target of £50,000+. One friend of mine promises to include a £1 for each minute I knocked off my 1998 time. This provided a really good incentive so much so that at the end of the race, rather than lose some precious minutes and £s in attending the Jesuit Missions' photocall I ran on to make a quicker finishing time.
The team spirit pervaded Waterloo Station on Marathon day itself. For early on the 18th April 1999, people from Kosovo mingled with the runners and asked that we wear orange ribbons during the race as a visible sign of solidarity with the refugees from that shattered land. Indeed the parallel then of seeing some 30,000 worn out marathon runners stream through the streets of London and witnessing later on television, the streams of worn out humanity flee from their homes was evident. But to feel as if you have run a marathon, knowing that your friends have been battered, your home burnt, your family lost and facing a completely uncertain future in a foreign land must be truly awful. Thank you to every one for teaming up with the Jesuit Missions' 1999 Flora London Marathon runners with so much encouragement and sponsorship which certainly kept me going and for the further teamwork , especially by Alan's mother, for a lovely party at 11 Edge Hill after the race. Jesuit Missions Results 1999 London Marathon: Runners & their times to do the 40 KM Peter McConnon 3:07 |
Jesuit Missions UK
