On March the 1st, ETO’s man of action Paul Smith took part in Vertical Rush, an annual event organised by Shelter to race up Tower42 (formerly the NatWest Tower) in London’s financial district. Having already set a time of 6:58 last year, this time Paul did the 920 step, 183m (600ft) climb no less than nine times in under 100 minutes, including the lift journeys down. Adding up to over a vertical mile’s climbing in under 89 minutes, Paul also believes he set a Guinness World Record by passing 1Km in under an hour, non-stop. Final conformation of his time is expected shortly, but is calculated to have been around 59:10 for the vertical kilometre. Along the way he helped raise over £240 for the homeless charity.
His next challenging project is running the London Marathon for The Stroke Association, as before his death in 2005 Paul’s father suffered a series of strokes – thus it’s a charity cause close to Paul’s heart. As a part of his preparation, on March the 11th Paul ran the Silverstone Half Marathon around the historic racetrack, finishing with a respectable time of 1:58:02; a personal best for him over the 13.1 mile/21.1Km distance. With the big event around the streets of London on Sunday, April the 22nd, Paul’s asking for your support again, via http://www.justgiving.com/marathonandon
He added, “I know times are tough but it’s a great cause which does practical work – remember the Act F.A.S.T television adverts? Those were paid for by The Stroke Association – and I’d really appreciate anything you can give to help support them. It’ll help keep me motivated as I cover those 26 painful miles as quickly as I can in April. Having applied three times in the ballot, this will be my first London Marathon and only the second time I’ve run this distance ever, so I really do need all the help I can get!”
