Marry-thon man!
RUNNER POPS QUESTION NEAR END OF 26-MILE RACE
A RUNNER struggled down onto one knee to propose to his partner moments before he crossed the London Marathon finish line.
Jon Higgins, from Flixton, was running the 26.2 mile race for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust because his daughter Eva has the condition, when he decided to pop the big question to his girlfriend Amy Nield.
The father-of-two had been running with the ring attached to a bracelet around his wrist, which he emotionally presented to Amy yesterday. But after she had accepted his proposal Jon got straight back on course, declaring ‘see you in a bit!’
He finished the race in three hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds. Jon and Amy, who lives in Standish, Wigan, have both worked at Trafford council for 20 years, but only became a couple four years ago.
Jon, 44, said: “I had put the ring on a leather bracelet round my wrist, so all along the race it was a constant reminder. I ran to the 25-mile mark and kept running until I saw Amy and saw her massive smile, and painfully got down on one knee. When she said yes it was a really lovely, wonderful moment. I don’t ever want to lose her and I wanted to show her how much I care. To become engaged to somebody who is so supportive of me is fantastic.”
Jon, whose nine-year-old daughter Eva was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis within days of her birth, has so far raised almost £4,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
He said: “I’ve always raised money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust since Eva was diagnosed but it’s only recently that I have taken on challenges as big as this. It was seeing my daughter’s face on the trust’s banners along the route of the last few London Marathons that inspired me to take on one of the most famous marathons in the world.
“To raise that much money and finish in under four hours is just an amazing feeling. And now it’s not just marathon day, it’s the day I got engaged!”
Fiancée Amy, 41, added that his proposal took her by surprise as she thought Jon was just ‘coming over for a hug.’ She said: “I wasn’t expecting it at all, I was completely shocked. He said: ‘I have got something to ask you’ and then got down on his knee and just said ‘will you marry me?’ I didn’t have a clue. I just said ‘yes!’ The atmosphere was brilliant and it was a really special moment. I’m really happy.”