Death of Sophie Lintott at Sittingbourne railway station inspires Louise Tidbury from Chatham to run 1,000 miles for Crohn’s and Colitis UK
Published: 06:00, 26 May 2016
A woman is running 1,000 miles in one year in memory of a teenager who died after falling on to railway tracks.
In taking on the challenge, Louise Tidbury, from Walderslade, is also raising money for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, a charity close to the 18-year-old’s heart.
Sophie Lintott, daughter of a friend of Louise, was standing on the platform at Sittingbourne in November 2015, when she seemed to have a seizure and stumbled forwards on to the tracks.
She died a day later in King’s College Hospital, London.
An inquest in January found she had no significant medical history to suggest she had a epileptic fit or was unwell leading up to the accident. Coroner Patricia Harding recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Louise said: “I decided this year to do something that was a challenge, I wanted to raise money and awareness for her.
“The charity was something very close to her heart. Even in her death she’s allowing everybody else to live a full life.”
The 37-year-old started running in 2009, and took part in the London Marathon five years in a row.
She also ran from London to Brighton in 2013 and in 2014, and in 2015 she ran 10 marathons.
This year she has entered 45 marathons, two ultra events and the 100-mile Samphire Hoe event in July.
She said: “I wanted to step up this year. It had become easy to do marathons, I was running marathons for my training.
“It just becomes a habit. For me it’s very zen, it’s like meditation, I switch off. My dancing is my training, and I go to the gym for four hours four times a week to build up my leg strength. I don’t go out and run between events, I let my body rest.”
By the end of 2016 Louise, who works for Kent County Council, will have run 72 marathons and is aiming to join the exclusive 100 Club for people who have run 100 marathons.
To sponsor Louise, visit www.justgiving.com/Lou-Tids.
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Clare Freeman