Hull runners turned out in force for an amazing Guinness World Record attempt, which is taking place over several months
Esmée Gummer, centre, with the Hull ParkRun participants ahead of the city’s leg of her Guinness World Record attempt for the most consecutive free 5k events hosted by one person.(Image: Matthew Bowen)
A runner who was left paralysed following a routine operation has thanked people in Hull for joining her in a momentous Guinness World Record attempt. As we previously reported, Esmée Gummer was 18 when she was paralysed from the waist down following complications during a routine operation.
Doctors told her she may never walk again – but that made her all the more determined to fight back to full fitness. Within weeks she was walking out of hospital and, now, 34, the keen runner is a passionate personal trainer, keen to get people moving and fit.
Esmée is currently taking on a huge challenge – a Guinness World Record attempt for the most consecutive free 5k events hosted by one person. She is taking part in 76 run clubs in 99 days, getting to every one of them on foot.
She started on June 27 and ends in London’s Westminster on October 3, and the sporting event came to Hull on Sunday, after she called upon city runners to lace up their trainers to join her. Following her call out, more than 120 people joined her at the event, at Hull ParkRun – the best-attended run so far.
Esmée said: “It was so nice to do a Sunday midday run, we haven’t done that yet. It was really good because more people came out, the weather was really good. It was actually a little bit too hot, but it was fine, because we did a little walk run, and the turnout was just amazing. It was the most we’ve ever had on the challenge. 126 people.”
The team is now almost at the halfway point of the 5,000 mile journey to the finish line this October, and it has not been without its challenges. As well as the physical demands being placed on her body, Esmée is also fighting daily mental battles. There is also the fact that tearing up the tarmac means she is getting through several pairs of trainers – 10 pairs in all, which she is rotating.
Despite the challenges, she has stayed mentally strong and positive throughout. She said: “Coming up to the halfway mark of the challenge feels really strange actually, because this is such a long challenge – 5,000 kilometres – and even getting to 2,500 alone is such an achievement for me. It’s the longest I’ve ever gone. But the fact that it’s halfway through the challenge is crazy, because I’ve got to do it all again.
“I think it’s a good milestone to get to. To just have a moment, to reflect, and realise how much I’ve done. But also, I am feeling anxious because I feel like I can still get so many more people moving.
“I’ve been going through loads of different emotions, naturally. I’m absolutely enjoying it. I think the biggest thing for me is that there’s more good about this challenge than bad.
“No matter what, I’m absolutely loving it, and every day I want to run, and I think that’s really interesting, because I assumed there’d be days that I’d wake up and be like, ‘I just don’t want to run today’, and I honestly hand and heart can say that I’ve wanted to run every day.
“Not one day of this challenge is comfortable. So, because of that, there’s so many emotions that I go through, especially feeling tired and I definitely feel really isolated. People can imagine how it feels, but no one knows exactly how I’m feeling, physically and mentally, being on the road for this long, running for as long as I have.”
Esmée added: “I’m going to celebrate the end with my family and close friends. One thing that I’ve really realised, even more so, is how important family, friends, and community are. So, my way of celebrating will almost definitely be with the people that I love, having a good knees up in a pub.”
The challenge is also raising funds for a number of charities, with the pot set to be split with 25% is going to Wings for Life, a charity that raises money for spinal cord injury research and is best known for its World Run event, in which participants run for people who can’t.
A further 25% is going to Sport In Mind, the UK’s leading mental health sports charity, 10% will go to parkrun Global, which organises nearly 3,000 weekly 5k and 2k events across the world. The other 40% of the pot is going to charities that are recommended. Esmée’s fundraising page can be found here.
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