101 Marathons: 73,346.2 miles and a warm welcome at RNLI Rye Harbour
Sarah Marzaioli lives in Hastings and has been running since her early 50s to raise funds for various charities.
My family and I love sea swimming and it is great to live in a seaside town. However, the sea can be so changeable and dangerous and I am totally in awe of the bravery, dedication and determination of the wonderful volunteer crew and organisation that make-up the RNLI,’ said Sarah.
Sarah has run 101 marathons, the last being today, Sunday 3 October 2020, starting from RNLI Eastbourne and finishing to a warm welcome at RNLI Rye Harbour. She has raised nearly £1000 for the RNLI for this marathon alone. She has completed marathons in London, Vancouver, Paris, Rome, Naples, Istambul and New York to name but a few. She has run in 15 London marathons and her 100th was to raise funds for the RNLI. One of her favourite marathons is the Moyleman which is a memorial race for a local runner staged over the beautiful South Downs around Lewes.
In 2018 she received the BEM in the Queen’s birthday honours’ list for her services to Speech and Language Therapy. In the 1990’s Sarah began painting and printmaking. Her inspiration for her work comes from her running in the beautiful Sussex and Kent countryside and her one-hundred and two year-old mother’s childhood memories.
Sarah began running in order to get fit enough to conquer the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu to raise funds for Barnardo’s. Someone suggested that she join a local running group, which she did (Hastings Runners) and found running uplifting and the camaraderie of her fellow runners supportive in her quest to get fit. Today she ran with some of her running group including Terry Kitson, who ran from Hastings to Rye Harbour with her. Cherry and Colin kept her going with water and jelly babies e n route.
When Sarah arrived at RNLI Rye Harbour she was overwhelmed with the turnout from the crew; she thought it was amazing. Also there to greet her at the end were her two daughters, Maria and Gemma, and friends including Irene. The crew stopped their training for a few minutes to make sure that Sarah got the welcome she deserved.
Paul Bolton LOM ( Lifeboat Operations Manager) and lifeboat crew greeted her warmly and congratulated her on behalf of our station and all of the RNLI. He commented, ‘In these difficult times of Covid-19 it is wonderful to have the support of people like Sarah who literally go the extra mile in order to raise much needed funds for the Charity that Saves Lives ant Sea. Thank you from all of us and to our dedicated crew who are out training in all weathers.’
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.