Run for your wife!
Reporter: LEWIS JONES
Date published: 24 April 2012
Photo: Duncan McDermid
OF course I will: the moment Sammy said yes.
Sammy says yes to her marry-thon man
SOME men choose to stand under the Eiffel Tower or journey to the top of the Empire State Building to propose to their special someone, but not romantic James Anderson.
He decided to pop the question to his Oldham girlfriend Sammy Fielding 25 miles into Sunday’s London marathon.
With sore feet and aching thighs, James (27) took a break from the gruelling 26-mile slog to get down on bended knee and catch his breath before uttering the words: “Will you marry me?”
Crowds who watched on from the sidelines let out a raucous cheer when nurse Sammy, a former North Chadderton School pupil, replied “Yes”.
She said: “It was such a bizarre experience, I’m only just getting over it. He looked worried when he came over and I thought he was going to say something was wrong.
“He said some really nice things and I started to cry, then when he got out the ring I just completely lost it.
“I was crying my eyes out, I was so proud of him for doing the race and so excited by the whole moment.”
The day was the culmination of sixth months of planning for James, who as well as having to figure out the logistics of finding his wife-to-be in a crowd of thousands, he also had to train for his first ever full marathon.
During the race, which he was running to raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity, he pushed hard to ensure he made it to the spot near St James’s Park where Sammy was eagerly awaiting with his family.
James said: “The race was absolutely phenomenal, it was one of the hardest but best things I have ever done.
“My legs were cracking up but I knew I had to keep on going to get to Sammy — plus I was carrying the ring the whole way.
“When I asked her, all the people around us just screamed and cheered, it was a brilliant experience.”
The full version of this story can be read in our print and eChron editions
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