Deo volente, I will run the Tewkesbury half-marathon on Sunday 10 May 2009. I have entered the race with my friend David Meryon (you can see us training on the left; David is the person confidently leading the way with his eyes fixed on the prize, and I am the one awkwardly wading through behind).
To make this more than a harmless bit of fun for a don on his way to middle age, I would like to raise some money for the Windle Trust (http://www.windle.org.uk). The Windle Trust works in Kenya, Uganda and the Sudan to help refugees gain access to education. It continues an adventure which goes back to the year of my birth in Nairobi. Robin Shawyer, the current director of the Trust, has been involved with this work from the very beginning; and I can testify to the depth of sacrificial service that he and others have put into it. Supporting them financially, or by running a few miles, really is the easy bit!
I hope you can contribute to this great work. I do not care for targets and plans very much; but I have set one at £1,000. I hope however that you will explode the ceiling! If we reach £3,000 I promise I will make every effort to run a real marathon by the summer of 2010 (with photos as supporting evidence).
Some people have, with typical English cruelty, suggested that they might sponsor me using a different scale, for example the number of sore muscles left a week after the event. This is fine; but really this page is easier!
Note that if you are a UK taxpayer, Her Majesty will graciously give me (that is to say, the Trust) an extra 28 pence for every pound you donate. Isn’t it wonderful to have a generous Queen as well as a generous King!
Eric
