Jolly’s Marathon Run

Richard Jolly admits as a fox in the box he’s not a footballer fond of  too much running. Yet the Stones striker, who became the second highest scorer for the  club in their ‘professional’ era (1971 onwards) this week, opened his  heart to reveal what has persuaded him to take on the London marathon in  2012.

In an exclusive interview with the Harrow Observer an emotional Jolly revealed  how the loss of both his granddad and his aunt this summer had provided  the inspiration to take on a slog he would never have dreamed of  tackling – and never will again.

“My aunty was in a very bad way before she died, she had  cancer and Parkinson’s disease, which really de-habilitated her, yet she  had the courage to go to her father’s (my grandad’s) funeral a couple of  weeks before she passed away. She stayed strong so 26.2 miles is nothing and that is what is going  to be in my mind going into the marathon.

I’m doing it for Help the Hospices as well because in the last day  before my aunty passed away she went into a hospice and they were  absolutely fantastic. So it is really nothing for me to do it for them to benefit. It pales  by comparison to the stuff that they did to help my aunty pass away in  comfort and with dignity. So if I am not comfortable for 26.2 miles running the marathon it is  nothing.”

Before all that the 28-year-old will concentrate on more familiar role  as goal scorer as Stones enjoy a rare league outing in recent weeks on  their travels to Concorde on Saturday. He was surprised to hear of his newly elevated status in Stones  modern-day scoring charts (139), leaving him second only to the  legendary George Duck (251). 

And while records are good,  achieving something tangible with Stones  is clearly a bigger priority. 

“I don’t think I will get anywhere near George Duck – I don’t think I have got the years in my legs.  “It is a nice landmark – to be second on a list including Neil Cordice  and players like that is a very good honour for me. “But I would just like to get us promoted and then I can look back on  my career and be happy with it.”

Courtesy of Harrow Observer