Congratulations to Adam Hawkins on his Rutland Marathon success

Big congratulations and huge thanks to Adam Hawkins, who despite suffering from aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), successfully completed the Rutland Marathon on behalf of Fifth Sense. This was Adam’s first marathon and the forty-three-year old father of three had never run competitively before. Yet he posted an impressive time of 3 hours 31 minutes 32 seconds, finishing second in his age category and 16th overall from a field of 149. Adam’s efforts have raised over £700 for Fifth Sense in a run that coincided with AERD Awareness Day on September 26th.

Adam learnt he had AERD after several months during which his health unravelled dramatically. Among the many debilitating effects, loss of smell and taste feature prominently. Adam provided Fifth Sense with a full account of his awful health journey, which you can read here.

After his diagnosis Adam turned to running. He found that preparing for and running half marathons helped him cope mentally. Sometimes the heavy physical exertion even returned fleeting moments of smell and taste. Encouraged by this – and some very good running times – Adam is planning to test his boundaries with a serious programme of marathons and extreme sporting challenges. He wants to show others that they shouldn’t let their condition hold them back.

Duncan Boak, Chair and Founder of Fifth Sense commented:

‘We’re all really proud of Adam for his achievement and for making this effort in support of our charity and community and I’d like to say a huge thanks to all his sponsors for your support. I know Adam is planning more endeavours in 2020, I’m looking forward to meeting him at our conference in November and finding out more!’