The deputy branch manager of a Portsmouth builders’ merchant who is suffering from a non-curable condition has raised more than £10,000 for charity by taking on a 100km two-day running challenge.
Sylvia Herring, who works at the Selco Builders Warehouse branch at Northarbour Spur in Cosham, lined up with ten work colleagues and friends for the Race to the Stones in Oxfordshire.
Sylvia took on the challenge despite suffering from Systemic Sclerosis (or Scleroderma), a condition which means the immune system attacks the body’s tissues, having devastating effects on joints, muscles, blood pressure and the digestive system.
The condition also causes additional symptoms including fatigue, muscle wasting, joint pain and acid reflux.
Despite that, Sylvia, who lives in Hedge End in Southampton, battled through two gruelling days to raise £10,428 for Scleroderma & Raynaud’s UK.
She said: “It’s an extremely testing event for even the fittest people so I always knew that it was going to be very difficult for me to complete.
“It took me nearly 12 hours to finish the 50km on day one and it reached the stage just over halfway through day two where I simply couldn’t continue.
“It was an emotional two days. There were lots of tears and times when I was sobbing uncontrollably.
“I was frustrated with myself that I couldn’t get to the end but, by the same token, I know that I pushed myself to the absolute limits.
“I’m so grateful to the ten people who signed up to take on the challenge with me and everyone who sponsored me.”
