Tony Joins Team Turn2us
On 9th September 2019, Tony Howard, Service Manager at Elizabeth Finn Care Home, The Lodge, took part in the Great North Run - the largest half marathon in the world. His aim was to raise much-needed funds for Turn2us.
Tony has worked for Elizabeth Finn Homes for over 25 years and was thrilled at the thought of taking part in one of his ‘bucket list’ runs.
Tony lives with his family in Exeter and travelled over 370 miles to take part in the race in Newcastle.
Training plan
As an experienced runner, Tony was able to make up his own training plan before the run to ensure he was prepared as much a possible for the big day. He did a few long runs but he had not quite made it up to the full 13.1 miles during his training. So he was delighted when he completed the full distance on race day.
There is always someone worse off than myself. I wanted to make a difference."
Tony Howard
Great experience
With over 57,000 people participating, Tony felt it was a great experience to run with so many other runners. He loved the atmosphere with people lining the streets to spur everyone on. He was even handed an ice pop by someone who was cheering on the runners! The crowd really kept him going right up to the finish line.
Tony has a real passion to help others and found it a real inspiration as he ran. He said, "There is always someone worse off than myself. I wanted to make a difference."
Favourite piece of kit
We asked Tony what favourite piece of kit he couldn't do without. "A good pair of trainers," he said. "Everyone runs differently and you need a good pair to get you to the finish line."
We are all very proud of Tony, having finished in a very respectable 2 hours 11 minutes. Tony says he will continue his running and is looking forward to his next challenge.
Sponsor Tony
Visit Tony's Just Giving page to sponsor him. There's still time!
Could you run for Turn2us?
Has Tony’s story inspired you?
Next year’s Great North Run (the event's 40th birthday) takes place on Sunday, 13th September.
You could also apply to be part of #TeamTurn2us in the London Marathon or maybe take part in one of our other sporting challenges.