A GROUP of cousins from across the globe have run a collective 105km to celebrate their dale grandmother’s landmark birthday.
Margaret Swan will celebrate her 105th birthday on October 24 and to mark the occasion her 20 grandchildren in countries such as Germany, America, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and South Africa each ran a combined 105km on the same day. Her grandson, Wilco Drew, who lives in Germany, said: “As a way to celebrate her birthday, around the world and to mark the occasion, unable to travel, we all set off to run a total of 105km to wish her well for each of the 105 years she will be celebrating in October. We ran for our gran.”
A collage compiled from a collection of photographs of her grandchildren in their running gear, was delivered to her home in Wycliffe last week.
By coincidence her son Robert, who was the first person to walk to both the north and south poles, had returned to England for a medical examination and was on hand to present the collage. He said: “I was in California where I did my ten miles and Barney, my son, did ten miles in Australia. We did it all in one day – it was a global effort.”
Mr Swan last visited his mum for her 104th birthday before embarking on a final 300km trek to the south pole to complete a 32-year ambition to have crossed all of Antarctica on foot.
Sadly, the expedition, which took place shortly after hip replacement surgery, proved unsuccessful. He said: “I was 40 miles from the South Pole when I fell and my hip came out of the socket. I had to be evacuated.”
Mr Swan, who returned to the UK to have his hip adjusted, hopes to fulfil his dream next year. He said: “If mum can make it to 105, I can make it to the South Pole.”
Mrs Swan, who described herself as a “pre-pill lady” , was overjoyed with her grandchildren’s efforts to mark her birthday.
She said: “There’s slight trepidation of being so old.” Mrs Swan attributed her longevity to “wonderful support of the family and laughter” .
He son added: “Mum likes to quote Shakespeare: ‘Laughter is the food of love and the music of the soul’.”
