Generous Student’s Charity Marathon Run

A local student has run the Paris Marathon for Ovarian Cancer, and even paid for all the flights and accommodation herself, so every pence of her sponsorship money goes to the charity.

Davinia Hollingsworth, from Paignton, is a Foundation Degree student studying Exercise Science and Fitness at South Devon College. She has recently returned from her trip to Paris, where she took on the 42,195km marathon around the famous City for her chosen charity.

The course starts out right in front of the Triumphal Arch and continues down the broad Champs Elysées. The route passes through two Parisian woods and past landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral and Place de la Bastille.

Every year in April, 40,000 runners and 250,000 onlookers crowd the streets of Paris in the annual ‘Marathon de Paris’ – and just so runners are absolutely sure they are in France, there is even red wine and cheese served at the 35th km mark!

Davinia ran the course in an epic 5 hours, and she said of the race,

“The atmosphere was awesome! It was tough but I’d recommend it to anyone, I’ve ran many races before but this one was a bit more ‘chic’ – it was in Paris after all!”

She has raised £300 so far for the Eve Appeal – a charity fundraising organisation that raises vital funds for research into prevention, detection, treatment and care of ovarian cancer. Davinia, who is planning on becoming a personal trainer following her Degree, has also recently run ‘Race for Life’ and is planning on running the Eden Project Marathon in October, all for Women’s Cancer Research.