Friends run marathon in 'favourite footwear' crocs

Two Edinburgh women have run a marathon wearing crocs to raise awareness about the 40 million people living in modern slavery around the world.

Carrie Hallam and Mhairi Russell, both 22, raised over £2,300 for anti-slavery charity International Justice Mission UK.

The pair decided to run a marathon in the unusual footwear because crocs have been a “long-standing unifying feature” of their friendship.

They managed to complete the run on July 16 wearing three pairs of socks each to add support to the soft shoe.

Their final time was four hours and 32 minutes.

International Justice Mission works in over 20 countries around the world to end human trafficking, slavery and other forms of exploitation.

Despite restrictions in many countries related to Covid-19, the charity is still sharing success stories, including 1200 women recently freed from forced labour in a garment factory in South Asia.

Ms Hallam said: “Lockdown has brought to light the injustices that exist across the globe. One of the most shocking things to me was learning that there are over 40 million people experiencing modern slavery today.

“Mhairi and I wanted to take practical action to fundraise for IJM in a challenging but fun way, which is where the idea for a croc-athon came in.

“Also, crocs have been a long-standing unifying feature in our friendship, and so what better way to showcase their practicality!”

The pair added: “Thanks to the support of friends and family and fuelled by the kindness of generous donations (and a big bowl of porridge), we managed to cross the finish line with smiles on our faces.

“ Thankfully, with three pairs of socks on our feet, we hit the 26.2 miles mark after 4 hours and 32 minutes of running. We had a wonderful welcome party at the finish line, all sporting our favourite footwear.

“We are so proud to have raised over £2,300 for such a fantastic charity who are making such a positive impact on the lives of many in the most difficult situations.”

David Westlake, CEO of International Justice Mission UK, said:“There are more people in slavery today than at any other point in history. Whilst slavery is bigger than ever, it’s also more stoppable than ever – and with more people like Mhairi and Carrie joining the fight we are another step closer to seeing slavery ended in our lifetime. We are so grateful to them both for this great – and unusual effort in raising awareness and money so that those in exploitation can have freedom.”

Crocs, which were first released in 2002, are made of foam resin known as Coslite, which forms itself to the wearer’s feet.

The shoe was initially developed for boating, but rocketed in popularity among the general public.

Crocs Inc has so far sold over 300 million pairs of shoes.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to the Edinburgh Evening News online and enjoy unlimited access to trusted, fact-checked news and sport from Edinburgh and the Lothians. Visit https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director