ONE OF Harlow’s best distance runners is taking on the London Marathon for one of our town’s most cherished charities.

Cathrine Ridge is running for Razed Roof. She did so in 2013 and is doing so again in April 2025.

So we asked Catherine to tell us a little bit more.

“Razed Roof is an inclusive performing arts group for people with, and without, learning difficulties and disabilities and I first met them in 2012 when I was writing for ‘Dancing Giraffe’, an organisation providing information to people in Essex with disabilities.

I quickly discovered that there was something very special about this group. The members work together in perfect harmony, complementing each other and all bringing something unique to the theatre company.

Every performance I have seen has been so moving and thought-provoking that I don’t think I’ve ever not cried! It really is a magical experience. Besides this, it’s clear to see that Razed Roof is a life-line to its members, improving the quality of life for everyone involved. However, they rely heavily on funding from various external sources to keep performing.

“When they learnt I was a runner, Razed Roof offered me their first ever place in the 2013 London Marathon. That summer I was avidly watching the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and had always wanted to run the London Marathon so I immediately snapped up the opportunity. They were an amazing charity to run for as I was encouraged to visit the group regularly to update them on my training and was soon known as ‘The Razed Roof Runner’.

My visits usually involved an exercise session with the group to help inspire a healthy lifestyle and they also supported me by holding fundraising events and collecting sponsorship. I was lucky enough to be given a second opportunity to run the marathon for Razed Roof in 2016. Since then I’ve continued to enjoy Razed Roof performances and been regularly invited to lead the warm-up on their annual sponsored walk around Harlow Water Gardens. So when I received my good for age place in this year’s marathon it seemed the perfect opportunity to use it to support Razed Roof once again. 

Although this will now be my seventh marathon, I still feel that I haven’t mastered the marathon distance and find the longer runs particularly tough (they don’t get any easier as I get older)! I have just reached 18 miles, which is my longest run in training so far. What does make it easier is training with Harlow Running and Tri Club and other running friends, so that I am always running with company and can chat away the miles. This does make it a lot more enjoyable for me.

“Here is the link to my JustGiving page for anyone that wishes to sponsor me”:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/catherine-ridge-1734549684903?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=EM