A BROMSGROVE PE teacher has brought her total raised for cancer charities while dressed as a polar bear to £2million after running the London Marathon.
Gill Punt began raising funds for Cancer Research UK by running races after her dad Mike died of bile duct cancer in 1999, aged just 56.
After nearly 29 years of fundraising for research into cancer, she finally passed the £2million mark at Sunday’s London Marathon.
During the marathon, she also got the chance to meet three-time London Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe.
She said: “The run was horrendous and magnificent all at once.
“The crowds were unbelievable, and with no time pressure I could high‑paw, bear‑hug and squeeze in interviews all the way round…. whilst melting in my furry, furnace of a costume.
“Thank you so, so much for all your support. £2 million means more research, more early detection, more hope for all those touched by cancer.”
In 2016, she ran the London Marathon in the same costume, breaking the World Record for the fastest marathon run in a full-bodied animal costume.
She also ran the polar night marathon in Norway in the same costume, again earning herself a Guinness World Record, that time for the fastest ice marathon dressed as a mammal.
She has also completed the world’s six ‘Major Marathons’, having run the 26.2-mile courses in London, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Boston and Berlin.
Her exploits have garnered massive attention, and she has appeared on programmes such as Lorraine in the past.
Gill holds a BEM and won the BBC Hereford and Worcester Make a Difference award for fundraising, after being nominated by her daughter.
Cancer Research UK has been very supportive of Gill’s efforts over the years, describing her efforts as ‘nothing short of incredible.’
Gill added that her next target was to raise £3million.
Visit fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/multi-million-marathoning-mission? to donate.
