Beth Carr reports on Insanity Radio’s recent 36 hour radio marathon for charity.
What would it take for you to do an all-nighter? For alumni Meg Walker, not sleeping for two days is just a part of raising money for CLIC Sargent – and we got to experience the whole 36 hours of ‘Radio Robbie’ with her, live on 103.2FM and via rhubarbTV’s live stream.
It’s certainly not the most usual fundraising method, but this isn’t the first time Meg’s been on air for a long time. The idea of doing a marathon started after her helping with the 128.7 hour marathon back in 2014 and when the opportunity came up last year to be part of the annual Insanity Radio marathons at Easter she jumped at the chance and took on 26.2 hours of live broadcasting, raising just shy of £1000.
The duration of her first radio marathon, 26.2 hours, give a clue to her other means of fundraising: running, more specifically the London Marathon. The reason for her charity work? A very personal one. Her friend Rob Harris passed away aged 21 in November 2014 after a short battle with testicular cancer, and to remember him she began long distance running in aid of his chosen charity, CLIC Sargent, as well as making him the namesake of her radio marathon.
CLIC Sargent was formed in 2005 as a merger between two other charities and works to support children and young people suffering from cancer. Their aim is to help everyone under 25 with the disease not only survive but thrive, fighting their corner even when they feel helpless. The support received by each child and their family is different but the charity will listen to what they need and try to help them maintain as much normality as possible in their lives.
This year, the challenge has increased – not only has Meg completed 36 hours on air, but she’s challenged herself to run 1,000 miles from September 2016 to September 2017. Four months in and she’s already run more than 400 miles, with the total only able to get bigger as the marathon approaches.
She could have chosen any other radio station to host the marathon, but Meg always wanted to do it with Insanity, the station where she started doing radio. The marathon not only reached local listeners from North Surrey and South East Berkshire, but all around the world. From Vienna to Vietnam, Australia to New Zealand, Canada to India, and with a Ms Costa from Costa Rica, Radio Robbie took Insanity and CLIC Sargent global.
Having raised £650 from her 36 hours on air, Meg will take on the London Marathon for the second time on 23rd April, as part of the CLIC Sargent team dressed as the Scooby Doo Gang. If you want to support her, her donation page is http://www.justgiving.com/megisrunningforrob.