Trail Half Marathon to help Pink

Trail Half Marathon in the Brecon Beacons for Pink

Hi guys,

I have decided to attempt a trail run half marathon in the Brecon Beacons in support of my dear friend Pink Brend, and to help her on her journey back to her normal life.

A trail run is an off-road, often hilly run with challenging terrain of variable distances. I have never done one before and never run as far as a half marathon before- so two firsts for me! The one I have chosen is particularly hilly, with over 2000ft elevation gain (which should hopefully promise some spectacular views), and the race date is 2nd October 2021.

Not long now… eeek!

So a bit more about Pinks story:

Pink is one of the most caring and knowledgeable people I know in the horse world. She has grown up in racing and in the last few years has been working with her mum and sister at their riding school; Bold Try in Chulmleigh.

Last year, March 2020, she suffered a life changing accident, where a young stallion attacked her and her sister out of the blue. Without going into too much detail, the attack left Pink hospitalised with a dislocated and fractured shoulder, several fractured ribs and a broken back in several vertebrae. However, perhaps the most worrying injury was a tear in the brachial cephalic/subclavian artery - one the main blood vessel coming out of the heart, resulting in an aneurysm.

The doctors managed to stabilise Pink but they always knew the aneurysm would need to be fixed surgically, once her other injuries had healed.

This surgery was delayed multiple times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was deemed safe and necessary to proceed on the 3rd March of this year.

Although all seemed well through the surgery, and the doctors were pleased with how it had gone, they hadn’t realised Pink had suffered a huge stroke on recovery from the anaesthetic. This was a huge blow to all her family and friends, and the surgeons involved.

The stroke left her in a coma, on a ventilator, and totally paralysed for 3 weeks.

However there was some light at the end of the tunnel, as after 3 weeks of battle with her body, in true Pink style, she managed to raise her middle finger on her right hand to the hospital staff !

It was from here on she continued to improve, and was eventually able to be taken off the ventilator once she got function back in her rib muscles.

However, Pinks left side remains paralysed, with small improvements in her movement and sensation on that side being made on a daily basis.

The months ahead require continued patience, but also a lot of specialised physiotherapy and equipment, often expensive at times with the NHS unable to fund all the help Pink requires.

Throughout this ordeal, Pink and her family have shown tremendous strength while the rest of us have given support from the sidelines, but ultimately felt helpless in these impossible circumstances.

So I have decided to do this ridiculous run for Pink, to show her my support and total awe at her constant strength and resilience. But also to try and raise a bit of money to help with the months of physio and rehabilitation ahead. The amount of amazing gear available to retrain her nerves and muscles is mind blowing ! And anything I can raise to help towards that I hope would make a huge difference.

Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a born runner. I much prefer my sitting down sports- rowing and riding! This will be a huge challenge for me, so most of all….I hope Pink will get a good laugh out of seeing her vet try and drag herself up the side of a mountain , puffing and sweating (and probably swearing!) away!

So if any of you would like to donate to this amazing cause, and help this brilliant lady get back on the not-so proverbial horse again, we would be extremely grateful.

Thank you !