Stratford headmaster runs in Venice Marathon
AROUND 8,000 runners took part in the Venice Marathon including King Edward VI headmaster, Bennet Carr, who completed his first marathon in 3 hours 52 minutes.
While Venice is one of the most scenic marathons in the world, Mr Carr, didn’t get to enjoy the backdrop as he was concentrating on maintaining a steady pace and ensuring he took on food and fluids at the right intervals.
Last Sunday the runners gathered at the start line - Venetian Villa Pisani - 21 miles inland set-off on the race route which follows the River Brenta to the sea.
The race reaches the islands of Venice via the four-kilometre causeway Ponte della Libertà and finishes in the historic centre, having crossed the Grand Canal via a specially built pontoon and completed a loop of Piazza San Marco in front of all the tourists.
Bennet Carr said: “My lasting emotion is one of relief. You spend 16 weeks following a training regime and set off from the start line with a race plan to achieve your finish time and mine was to try and get under four hours. I didn’t quite reach the heights of a negative split by running the second half quicker than the first but I felt good in finishing strongly. There was terrific camaraderie amongst the runners, who were from all over the world and the bib numbers had each runner’s national flag printed on them. It was also good to see the locals who turned out in force to line the route.”
His marathon effort helped raise money for the Beer Harris Memorial Trust which the school supports in memory of a former KES pupil.
“I am very grateful to the members of our school and wider community who support my continued fundraising efforts for the Beer Harris Memorial Trust. Joe Harris was at KES from 2007 to 2014 and lost his life in a tragic road accident whilst undertaking charity work in South Africa and I am proud to play my small part in keeping his memory alive whilst raising valuable funds for community based mental health projects. I was touched that Joe’s parents, Miranda and Roy, were there to lend their support,” Bennet Carr said.
