Borders mum raises more than £1,000 for NHS Borders by running half-marathon round garden

Carly Raeburn, 28, completed the 13.1 miles in two hours and 41 minutes on Sunday, raising more than £1,000 for the NHS.

The mum-of-two had been due to run in the Edinburgh Running Festival’s half-marathon event this month, but after its cancellation due to the coronavirus lockdown, she opted to run the race at home instead.

Cheered on by husband Scott and sons Ben, six, and Freddie, two, the travel agent, employed by Jedburgh’s Border Global Travel, ran about 1,000 loops of her front and back gardens in Howden Drive.

Used to running nine-minute miles, Carly said the slower pace due to the constant cornering had proved problematic but was worth it to raise £1,065 and counting for the Friends of the Borders General Hospital charity.

“I did a few practice runs of three and five-mile distances around the garden and it was sore on the feet and knees and made me really dizzy,” she said.

“I knew doing the half-marathon was going to be absolutely horrible, but raising money for the hospital at this time was a great cause and well worth it.”

The Friends of the BGH charity raises money for assisting staff at the Melrose hospital with equipment and other essentials.

You can still donate to Carly’s fundraiser by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carly-raeburn?fbclid=IwAR0LMFGk3OyYUDwhsB1UvWh64osndXknpEUs2mz0x5gaNHf4IYRsUk8lFL0