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Oxford man prepares to run eighth London Marathon in support of sister

Oxford man prepares to run eighth London Marathon in support of sister

Yahoo27-04-2025

An Oxford man is preparing to run his eighth London Marathon in support of his sister, who has an incurable, life-limiting condition.
Nick Brodie, 38, will move one step closer to reaching his target of completing the marathon 10 times to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis when he takes part on Sunday, April 27.
His sister, Philippa, 40, has the genetic condition, which affects more than 11,300 people in the UK.
Nick Brodie will run his eight London Marathon this weekend (Image: Cystic Fibrosis Trust) People with cystic fibrosis suffer from a range of symptoms affecting the entire body.
Mr Brodie has raised more than £22,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust over the years, and has received £1,540 in donations online so far this year.
He said: "I ran my first London Marathon in 2011. I wasn't a keen runner, but I did well, and I raised about £5,000.
"The training for that race was really challenging, and I remember being very emotional and getting halfway when my legs started seizing up.
Nick Brodie and his sister Philippa (Image: Cystic Fibrosis Trust)
Nick Brodie and his sister Philippa (Image: Cystic Fibrosis Trust) "If I wasn't doing it for Cystic Fibrosis Trust I probably would have stopped, but I pushed through and made it to the finish line."
Speaking about this year's race, he added: "It's an incredible event and it's so emotional, you can really feel the individual stories of all the runners.
"Philippa is hoping to come along with my nephew this year."
Philippa said: "I'm really proud that he has done this and raised so much money.
"It's a crazy achievement, both the number of marathons he's done, and the money that he's raised for cystic fibrosis.'

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A woman says she is now able to walk again after she was trampled by players participating in an annual Easter Monday tradition. Alexie Winship said she was among spectators watching the Hallaton bottle kicking in Leicestershire event last month when she was caught up in a scrum of participants. The 24-year-old was taken to hospital where she was found to have suffered a neurological injury and a bleed on her spine, which left her without most feeling below her waist. However, Ms Winship, from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, has told the BBC she is now continuing her recovery at home after two weeks in hospital. Bottle kicking is an event where players attempt to wrestle wood kegs through a field to win. Ms Winship said the action surged towards her, causing her to be pushed to the ground, kicked in the head and knocked unconscious. She was taken first to the Leicester Royal Infirmary, then a week later to St Luke's Hospital in Market Harborough, before being discharged. "I feel so lucky to be alive, it could have been so much worse," Ms Winship said. She added that she was having physio to help her recovery. Ms Winship said: "I have good days and bad days. "With the feeling, it comes and it goes, it just depends on the day really. I am back at the gym now. "But I find if I overdo it, that's when the side effects come into play. "I do get really tired quite quickly now and standing up for lengthy periods of time puts a bit of strain on my back." Recalling coming round in hospital, Ms Winship said she questioned whether she would ever walk again. "I was just thinking, why has this happened to me?" "I remember thinking, 'I hate this, I hate not being able to walk.' "It was really frustrating," she said. Bottle kicking takes place in a field between neighbouring villages Hallaton and Medbourne. It has few rules, but is won when players are able to carry two of three barrels across a stream back to their village. Two of the "bottles" contain beer, while one is completely wooden - painted red and white - and is referred to as the dummy. Organisers have said local legend suggested the event, preceded by a procession through Hallaton in which hare pies are scattered, can trace its roots back 2,000 years. Ms Winship said she was an active, fit and healthy person who had been training to run a half-marathon before she was injured. She said she aimed to run the 2026 London Marathon and has used the race as a target in her recovery. After this year's event, Phil Allan, chairman of the bottle kicking organising committee, said he wished Ms Winship a "full recovery". He added people were warned well in advance of the risks of entering the field of play. "We don't want anyone to get hurt but you do get the odd injury - it's an age-old problem," Mr Allan said. "We've looked at all sorts of things but you can't marshal it. It's an unpredictable event. "We put posters up around the field telling people they enter at their own risk so they are warned. And we pay for ambulances and paramedics to attend in case anyone does get hurt." Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. 'Bottle kicking trampling left me unable to walk' Villages slug it out in bottle kicking battle

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