Forget Bingo, This Gran Runs to Raise Funds For Charity

by Hollie Sanders

While most Grandmothers are relaxing, having tea with friends and playing bingo at the local club, this Grandmother, runs marathons to raise money for charity. The sixty-nine year old pensioner doesn’t even need a bus pass, she just runs everywhere she goes. She says that some of her friends think she is completely mad, but she loves running and has raised ₤20 000 for charity by running 1 794 miles. She has run in the London Marathon ten times and has also competed in marathons world-wide.

Perky pensioner, Pauline, of Teignmouth received her first pair of running shoes when she was forty two years old and hasn’t looked back since. Her husband Eric encouraged her to take part in her first London marathon and last month she ran her 69th race. This was in Edinburgh and she came in, in a respectable enough time of six hours, five minutes, notching up another ₤400 for a Children’s cancer charity, the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund.

This is a far cry from sitting in a bingo hall or playing online bingo to raise money, but nevertheless our bingo playing grandmothers are also doing their best for charity and in the end, every little bit helps. But being a super Gran like Pauline is something worth mentioning and I take my bingo playing hat off to her, I a not nearly that age and I really prefer my game of bingo and cup of tea to donning my running shoes and punishing my body. But well done Pauline, we Grans unite to congratulate you in your finest hour. May you keep on running and raising funds and we will keep in sitting and playing bingo, while sipping a cuppa.