Wife of former ACC completes marathon for Chris

6 October 2022

Sharon (second from left) with (left to right) Sally, Kristal and Shereen.

“Without a doubt, it was Facetiming Chris at the halfway point that kept me going,” says a former West Midlands police officer who successfully completed this year’s London Marathon in honour of her terminally ill husband.

Sharon Johnson (51) finished the 26.2 mile route on Sunday (2nd October) raising almost £11,000 for Primrose Hospice, the charity which is supporting her husband and former Assistant Chief Constable Chris, who is living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Sharon was joined by a trio of her previous co-workers and best friends, Kristal Taylor, Sally Duff and Shereen Ballintine. 

“Am I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? No. It was without a doubt, the hardest thing I have ever done, both physically and mentally - but what an experience,” said Sharon, who we caught up with two days after the event. 

“Everyone who knows me knows that when I say I’ll do something, I will do it. There was no way I wasn’t crossing that finish line on Sunday.”

The team was running for Chris (55) who was diagnosed with MND in 2018. He worked up until 2020, which is when his condition worsened and he was forced to retire, 29 years after first joining the police.

Sharon added: “When I got home, I was greeted by a big bunch of flowers, a card and a bottle of fizz. Chris was in bed but awake because he knew I’d be coming home - I went in and gave him the biggest hug, and he told me how proud he was of me. I just burst into tears.

“I think he’d got so sick of me talking about how I was running the marathon, but now he’ll just have to listen to how I actually completed the marathon.”

Sharon explained that having run the first 17 miles, she started to experience problems with her left calf, admitting that she was in ‘absolute agony’.

“People were tracking me and they thought I had given up,” continued Sharon, who has two children with Chris, after the couple married in 2001.

“The pain was horrendous. But I gave myself a very good talking to and carried on. To be honest, it’s the crowd that keeps you going, they are just phenomenal. They’re giving you sweets, high-fiving you and shouting your name.

“The atmosphere is just incredible, you can’t beat it.”

At that point, Sharon received a message from her sister-in-law, who was at home with Chris, telling her that their fundraising efforts had hit the £10,000 mark.

She added: “From then on, it was mind over body but there was never any question that I wouldn’t cross that finish line. I needed to dig deep but I did it.”

To help with their fundraising efforts, Sharon and the team received sponsorship for each mile run, with Chris donating £20 for mile 26.

Kristal and Sharon.

“I did a Facebook Live video during the final stretch and dedicated my final mile to Chris,” Sharon said.

“I remember it wasn’t too far from the end and a woman who was spectating said to me, ‘you’ve got this, you’ve done something amazing today, you have run the London Marathon’. At the same time, Buckingham Palace came into sight and the tears just started flowing. I don’t know if I was elated or just relieved, it’s such a strange feeling.”

Chris’s fundraisers completed the run in six-hours-and-fifty minutes, slightly longer than hoped for due to Sharon’s injury.

“I’m in a lot of pain now, I’m very sore. My bottom half isn’t currently working,” laughed Sharon. “But I did it, and I did it with some of my best friends - could I ask for better friends really? What an achievement.

“When we crossed the finish line, we just hugged each other. It hasn’t hit me yet what I’ve done. I don’t think it will hit me for a while.”

Shining even more of a light on Sharon’s inspirational story is the BBC, who contacted her and asked if they could share her experience as part of the weekend’s marathon coverage.

“This is huge for Primrose Hospice, I’m so happy that I’ve been able to get their name out there, to the nation. It will mean so much to them.”

So far, Sharon and her London Marathon team have raised nearly £11,000 for Primrose Hospice, a local charity which provides vital support to people living with life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families. 

“It’s been unbelievable really. We’ve had donations from family, friends, old colleagues and even Charlotte Hawkins, from Good Morning Britain, has donated, as well as our local MP Sajid Javid,” added Sharon, who says she has since received hundreds of messages from friends and family, congratulating her for running the route.

Their fundraising efforts come a year after more than 300 officers as well as their families and friends took part in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Liverpool Marathon and Half Marathon as part of team #WMPMND. To date and including the money raised from this year’s marathon, Sharon and her colleagues have almost hit the £80,000 mark, shared between the MND Association and Primrose Hospice.

She started running shortly after Chris received his diagnosis although back then she admits she could barely manage half a mile.

“I quickly realised that running was good for my mental health and gave me something to focus on,” adds Sharon.

Over the past few months, Chris’s condition has dramatically deteriorated. Other than his fingers, he has lost all movement in his body from the neck down and he relies on Sharon to help him with almost everything, including eating. 

“When Chris was diagnosed we both said that we would live for today and nothing would stop us. It’s really important to us that MND doesn’t take over our lives,” Sharon added.

The couple recently attended the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games, after Chris received a special invitation. 

“When we found out Birmingham was going to host the Commonwealth Games, Chris was still at work. After he retired having been diagnosed, Chris kept in touch with Ian Reid, the chief executive officer of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, and he was promised an invite to the opening ceremony. I remember Chris always said to me, ‘if I’m still here’,” explained Sharon.

“So when the invite for the opening ceremony landed, it was so special. We had reached a huge milestone.

“We were at the ceremony, soaking up the atmosphere and Chris looked at me and said ‘I made it’. It was very emotional, as you can imagine, there were lots of tears that day.”

You can still donate to Sharon and the team’s JustGiving page.