2020 has been beyond strange, we've tried to maintain as many positives as possible. When Sue contacted me after the wedding to share the story, it was wonderful, so thought sharing it again would be run-der-ful.
To hear about a couple who wanted to get married in a run is epic, but get married during Covid-19 and during a marathon is truly incredible.
Here's their story, enjoy...
We realised we wanted to tie the knot in the summer of 2019, but any kind of conventional marriage was not for us. Being runners we both wanted running to feature in the celebrations. Since 2017 we’d taken a break from marathon running so the solution was obvious - return to our favourite marathon and marry mid-run.
In September 2019 we approached 3D Events, the organisers of the Jersey marrython with our plans. We found a celebrant prepared to work with us and began discussions with Jersey’s Registrars office. Many details had to be agreed including approval of our proposed site for the ceremony.
Everything was progressing nicely at the beginning of 2020. We were planning a long break across the Jersey marathon weekend and a honeymoon winter break in the sun at Christmas. Then everything changed.
Throughout 2020 we had to pre-empt or react to events as they happened. But we were determined as long as we could get to Jersey the wedding would go ahead So it was with runners endurance to carry on, and accepting things were a little different from he original plans, the marathon went ahead.
Obviously, I had my own version of every brides dilemma - what to wear on the big day. I knew I wanted to wear a skort but they are not easy to come across in anything other than black. I spent weeks searching but could only find them on American websites, I ordered one but was not happy with the quality of the material…so the search continued.
I was looking through a copy of Runners World when I came across an article “8 small British brands to support during the lockdown” I started to search through them with no luck, but last but not least on the list was Zaazee. I quickly went to their website and there they were – 4 fabulous skorts! I chose 2, the ELECTRA and AVERY. When they arrived I tried them on and they were a perfect fit, the material was soft and flattering. I was very happy the search was over even though it was still far from certain whether the ceremony would be able to go ahead.
But luck and determination were on our side and the day of the marrython arrived. I chose the ELECTRA skort for the first 19 miles then changed into the AVERY skort for the ceremony and the final 7.2 miles. I broke a fundamental marathon rule and didn’t try the skorts on any training runs beforehand as I wanted them to be brand new for the day. The skorts did not let me down, they were perfect, as was the whole day and I managed to complete the marrython without any chafing!
This year has been different for everyone but we hope that our little tale of runners endurance, perseverance, maybe even stubborn determination comes with a warm glow of hope and positivity ahead of what is looking like a difficult winter ahead. Despite everything we had the most amazing wedding which was made even more special and memorable than it would have been without the changes we had to make.
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We wish them both a future of happiness and running. We love the photos, thanks for sharing your story. Best wishes, Team ZAAZEE