{"id":4344,"date":"2018-08-24T13:19:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T13:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/?p=4344"},"modified":"2021-08-31T08:29:38","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T08:29:38","slug":"runner-feature-running-for-adam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/runner-feature-running-for-adam\/","title":{"rendered":"Runner Feature – Adams Superheroes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The 11 superheroes (+ one baby!)<\/strong> who ran at Lee Valley VeloPark on July 28th<\/strong> hadn’t all met each other before the day of the race. The team hailed from the US, Canada, and all over the UK.<\/strong> We had varying degrees of experience and passion for running. What we did have in common was a dear friend called Adam<\/strong>. The last occasion where we were all in the same place at the same time was his funeral in February<\/strong>. And the time before that would have been his wedding, two and a half years earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n It was interesting sharing stories of how we’d met Adam<\/strong>. Each story related to a different chapter of his life – school, university, work, travelling, flat-sharing… but a fascinating theme emerged with how the stories started: “There was this really loud guy who rocked up late…”<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n And then we got to know him. And discovered a guy who was still loud, and always late, but who was also one of life’s funniest, most enthusiastic, kindest of characters; someone who brought an enormous amount of energy, joy and positivity to all those around him. A super loyal friend, and a true one-of-a-kind. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Adam suffered from Cystic Fibrosis<\/strong>, <\/span>a genetic disorder that causes a build up of mucus in the lungs, digestive system and other organs, and brings a host of challenges to the <\/span>whole body. But despite his rigorous daily regime of physio and medication, Adam never let his condition define him<\/strong>, nor inhibit his passion for life or his motivation for achieving his ambitions. He went off to university, he skied, he travelled the world, he turned his talent to writing for national newspapers, he lived life to the full. <\/span><\/p>\n To us, he was a real life superhero!<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n I knew Adam from university, where he was life and soul of the party. And did he like to party<\/em>! He would make cocktails in big plastic bowls with bottles of cheap wine and shots of everything in the cupboard, and a dash of lemonade as an afterthought. He once tried to ‘strawpedo<\/strong>’<\/em> a whole bottle of red wine in the garden of the house we shared, with disastrous consequences. He loved to dance. He loved trance tunes. He had a wicked way with words and invented many hilarious Adam-isms<\/strong>. He loved a lively debate, the more ridiculous the better. Many a night would incorporate him posing a totally obscure “would you rather..?”<\/em> conundrum, and conclude with him dissolving into his trademark infectious laughter, rather than us reaching agreement about which of his proposed options would be the least hideous. He would sing ‘California Dreaming’<\/em> so loudly that the next street could hear. Then he’d sing it again in French<\/strong>. Appropriately, he loved superhero fancy dress, and this was the theme of his Stag Do.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam<\/strong> tragically passed away during a much needed lung transplant operation in February, two weeks after his 39<\/strong><\/span>th<\/strong> birthday<\/strong>. He was a true superhero right to the end, saving three other lives through his own organ donation<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n There were so many people at his funeral that we couldn’t all fit in the building, so the university contingent hovered outside, straining to listen to the heartbreaking tributes being shared from within. It was snowing, the sky was grey… it was, as seemed grimly fitting, Such a winter’s day. But in contrast to the backdrop, the eulogies could not have been warmer. His sister Claire made a plea during hers: “Let’s continue the conversation about Adam”<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n Embracing this to the full, Adam’s best friend Steve set up a ‘Much Loved<\/strong>’ site, in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust<\/strong>, to raise funds for a specific project chosen by Adam’s mother Janet. The project entails the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Royal Brompton Hospital<\/strong> (who cared for Adam for many years) working together on a study to explore the pathway from Cystic Fibrosis care through to transplantation<\/strong>. It will investigate patient experiences of the transplant process, with the aim of improving clinical practice and outcomes, including when and how conversations about transplant should happen. It is an important project and one extremely close to the hearts of Adam’s family. It needed additional funding to advance, so all our contributions will directly impact the experiences of CF patients in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve also created a Facebook community called ‘Active for Adam’<\/strong> to connect all of Adam’s friends, to keep his memory alive and generate fundraising ideas. It was through this that we conceived the idea for a sponsored superhero run<\/strong>. There was a lunch celebration for Adam planned in Hampstead<\/strong> (where he used to live) on July 28<\/span>th<\/span>, so we looked for a nearby run that we could do on the same day, and came across RunThrough at Lee Valley VeloPark<\/strong>. To make it a fitting tribute to Adam, and to unify ourselves, we decided to dress in matching capes and masks in his favourite colour. It would be fun, it would be silly, it had Adam all over it. Although we didn’t all meet in person until the day of the race, we spent the preceding weeks in touch ‘virtually’ a lot to organise logistics, generate sponsorship, and of course, design and make the outfits! <\/span><\/p>\n