A MALDON resident was over the moon after her grandson ran 57 miles to visit her.
Jean Pauley, 85, of Norfolk Road, received a visit from grandson Barney Pauley when he completed a gruelling charity run from London to Maldon.
Jean has lived in Maldon since 2010, but before that she and her family - including Barney - would often go on holiday to Osea.
Barney took on the 57-mile run from Stratford, east London, to Jean’s Bungalow in Maldon in one go, raising £1,200 for charity.
After starting off at 6am, the incredible challenge took him less than 13 hours to complete, arriving at Jean’s home at 6.10pm.
Barney took on the challenge in aid of Road2Recovery UK, a charity which helps support motocross riders who have suffered life-changing injuries.
Before March this year, he had never run more than 10 kilometres in his life.
During the challenge, his running partner suffered an injury at the 37-mile stage so Barney had to complete the last 20 miles on his own.
Jean said she was incredibly proud of Barney’s achievement.
She said: “Barney did it and it was wonderful, it was the equivalent of two marathons and he is not a runner.
"He trained for it for quite some time and he did it.
"When he arrived here, he dropped into my arms and asked for a cup of tea. He came in and recovered very quickly,
"I'm very pleased, especially for someone who has never been a runner."
Jean previously said she was confident in her grandson’s ability to complete the challenge.
She added: “I have loads of grandsons - I have younger ones and older ones, and Barney is very close to me.
“We had a caravan for 40 years at Osea - my sons and grandsons all went there.
“Barney, in particular, spent an awful amount of time at the caravan.”
Barney said: "Extreme sports have been a passion my whole life.
"Road2Recovery is an amazing charity that helps professional athletes after sustaining career ending and life changing injuries.
"Extreme sports athletes are some of the most talented overlooked athletes in the world."
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