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Abigail, right, during her final run of 2019.
Marathon effort raises £1,611 for Gibraltar charity

Marathon effort raises £1,611 for Gibraltar charity

Abigail Evans completed a gruelling 365-day running challenge in memory of her grandfather

Ash Bolton

Friday, 10 January 2020, 11:06

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A Gibraltar woman is celebrating after raising £1,611 for charity in memory of her grandfather. Abigail Evans raised the money by running every single day of 2019 in aid of the Gibraltar Alzheimer's & Dementia Society.

The 29-year-old decided to take up the challenge after her grandfather Freddy Ignacio passed away in February 2018 at the age of 79, after suffering from a number of illnesses including Alzheimer's.

In total, Abigail ran over 1,600 kilometres during 2019, which included three half marathons in Malaga, Jerez and Gibraltar - and a minimum of three kilometres a day.

Abigail, who is originally from Colchester in Essex but moved to the Rock when she was 12, told SUR in English that she decided to take on the challenge in memory of her grandfather, who was "an amazing man" and a "true hero".

She explained: "All I wanted to do was make him proud so I decided to take up the challenge and help raise as much money as I could so other families can benefit from the resources my grandpa wasn't able to receive."

Abigail, a business and configuration assistant in Gibraltar, added that she even took her running shoes with her to weddings to make sure she completed the challenge.

She said: "My family and friends have been really supportive about it. My friends think I'm a bit of a psycho and did tell me all last year that they couldn't believe I was running every single day, especially when I was on holiday in places like Ibiza and Barcelona and going to weddings. But it was good, I enjoyed it.

"After completing my last run it was really weird and a strange sensation as I couldn't believe it was my final day and that I had actually ran 365 days. It was more the next day when I realised I didn't have to get up and go running that was a bit weird."

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