Preview: London Parkour Marathon

Lindsey
By Lindsey Last edited 166 months ago
Preview: London Parkour Marathon

stickyparkour.jpg
Sticky in Edinburgh
Johnny "Sticky" Budden is freerunning from John O'Groats to Paris. That's 1000 miles of parkour, all in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. That's gruelling. No wait, that's insane. He started on 17 April and this Sunday hits London. He kicks off at Queens Park Tube, 9.30am and finishes in Danson Park, Bexley Heath, via Central London. That's 26.29 miles of running, jumping, vaulting, leaping, swinging and dropping over and under all obstacles along the way, as fluidly and efficiently as possible. We say again, insane.

However, Sticky's determined to blast this challenge but he could do with some company. Whether you're a parkour perkin yourself or simply a slack mouthed admirer with a camera, he could do with your support along the route: Track him on the website or catch him traversing Regents Park, Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Victoria Embankment, Waterloo bridge, Waterloo Imax subway, Elephant & Castle, Vauxhall Spot, London Aquarium, Tate Modern, Tower of London, London Bridge, Southwark Park, Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory Greenwich and ending up at Danson Park (for a well deserved dip). And why do it? He explains it rather eloquently himself:

"Practicing parkour is to chase fear on a daily basis, to confront it head-on, to face it naked and alone. In parkour, you are stripped to your essence. There is no equipment to rely on, no safety harnesses or padding to protect you, no teammate to take the brunt when you are tired. It's you, and you alone.

In this way, Parkour and suffering from Motor Neurone Disease are ultimately linked, by the determination of overcoming obstacles, often alone."

You can support Sticky by donating at his website and tracking his progress to Paris.

Last Updated 21 May 2010