British woman Rachel Bowker recently completed a successive staged run along the 214km EcoVia route – the full width of Portugal – from the most south-westerly point of Europe to the Spanish border. This was the equivalent to running five Marathons in as many days, and makes her possibly the first person to run this route within that timeframe.
Accompanied by her half-Portuguese partner, former British soldier Marc Gomes, who is a cycling leader, Rachel, 42, set off from Cape St. Vincent on October 25 to raise funds for the cancer charity Bosom Friends. The death of her mother from ocular melanoma had prompted Rachel to support the aid organisation based at her hometown, Barnoldswick in Lancashire.
Rachel was also accompanied by back-up team, Tony Spicer and Julie Feeney, also from Lancashire, travelling by campervan and bicycle.
The first leg took her from the cape to Lagos and, from here, runners from the Algarve Hash House Harriers joined her for spasmodic periods, running or cycling along with her.
Rachel and Marc are both keen ‘Hashers’ and run with this ‘slightly mad’ troop every week.
By the third day, over a dozen of the group had joined her for the section from Armação de Pêra to Quarteira.
And it was here that the couple’s daughter, Grace, was waiting. She and her twin sister Millie had produced placards encouraging Rachel onward with that most inspiring of dictums, “Força!”
On the Sunday, the Harriers organised their weekly event to coincide with Rachel’s run from Quarteira to Fuseta. By the end of this day, the “Marathon Queen”, as she was now getting called, was suffering from fatigue and a minor foot injury. But the company of a score of fellow runners encouraged her to finish at a ‘Hash Circle’ where she allowed herself a rewarding beverage … or two!
The final day was the cruellest. Rachel’s foot was giving her pain and tiredness was beginning to show. Her pace, which had been fairly consistent until then, slowed. But she demonstrated her Lancastrian spirit by plodding on to the finish line at the Spanish ferry terminal on the Guadiana River in Vila Real de Santo António. Here she was met by cheering Hash House Harriers and friends from near the couple’s home in Alte.
Along the route, Rachel had encountered people who recognised her from earlier reports in the press and who donated to her appeal fund. She is now hoping that others will do likewise, having seen or learnt of her incredible exploit. Throughout her run, Rachel kept that project very much in mind. Bosom Friends certainly have a friend in Rachel – a woman who was prepared, and determined, to run the Algarve for them.
To donate, visit www.ukvirginmoneygiving.com/RachelBowker2
By RAYNER OTTER
