South Coast Half Marathon and 10k

15th August 2010

On the 15th August, Rob Allan's school friends took part in the South Coast Half Marathon and 10km in Seaford to raise money for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). The event was in honour of our best friend Rob who died on March 22nd in his sleep – he had just turned 22.

We all attended Howard of Effingham School and have remained as close as we all were in our happy school years. Rob played 1st team rugby and cricket and had been an outstanding goalkeeper for several local youth sides – sport was his real passion. Having been the ultimate team sport player it seemed only fitting that we should all get together and take part in something that he would have loved, and hopefully been proud of us for doing.

There were some outstanding performances on a windy day at the seaside which saw amongst us James Warren win the 10km and Matt Arnold the Half Marathon. A sliding finish from Dave Camplin over the finish line was a particular highlight for all the hardy parents and supporters that we had watching. With 18 of us running in our team vests we were quite a sight to behold!

Rob was our gentle giant and there is not a day that goes by in which he is not missed. Celebrating the life of such a wonderful person has not only helped us through this difficult time, but also brought all those together who were lucky enough to have known Rob. Reading the dedications on the fundraising page is enough to see what an inspiring young man he was.

So far we have raised over £5,250 and we hope to keep this going in the days following the run. Hopefully the athletic looking photos that have been posted on Facebook will inspire more donations!

The link for the fundraising page is as follows: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobAllan

For anyone who is touched by Rob's story, we would be ever so grateful to hear from you. And we'll be 'Running for Rob' and raising money for CRY for a long time to come in honour our friend – he'll always be with us.

Team Rob Allan