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As stated above, this very sought after opportunity was offered to me on 9 December 2017...9 months after my second born Freddie, and 9 cocktails into the night, probably as early as 9pm!!!! 

“Anyone who wants the chance to run the London Marathon 2019 put your name into the ballot at the Rugby Football League Christmas Party”...

“Hmm.....do you know what- I’m going to”.

....several hours later....

“And the four people running the London Marathon 2019 are Charlotte Monkman, Oliver Roby, Sophie MacNay and Simon Brindle”

What a team I thought!! It’s still 16 months away!! Let’s park it for now...

November 2018 training starts. I’ve always been very active but NOT a runner, certainly not long distance.. Put me on a netball court for 5 hours and I’d do it every week of the year,  but 5 hours of running....pahhh.

So why??

1. Bucket List- Marathon medal? Yes please. 

2. Following something through to the end. With two young children, a husband and a busy career it’s very easy for me to start things and give up. Not this.

3. Rugby League - Pre children there was a time where I would spend 75% off my whole week at Red Hall and how privileged I was. What a team. What a giggle. What hard work. What experiences....This is my chance to give back to the sport and it’s community. 

4. I will be raising money for the Danny’s Jones Defibrillator Fund. Incidents of cardiac illness are thankfully very rare in sport but the presence of a defibrillator at every match will provide peace of mind for both players and their families.

Danny Jones was a Keighley Cougars and Wales international half-back who collapsed and died from an undiagnosed heart condition while playing against London Skolars. Following his tragic death, his wife Lizzie successfully campaigned for cardiac screening to become mandatory at every Championship and League 1. Now, Lizzie has joined forces with the RFL Benevolent Fund to raise money to create a fund that will provide assistance to hundreds of community clubs and junior teams across the country to purchase a defibrillator. Defibrillators cost around £1,000 each and provide potentially life-saving treatment to anyone suffering a cardiac arrest.

Being a mother of two sport-eager young boys I hope I will have peace of mind in years to come at our local community clubs thanks to this fantastic cause to install defibrillators across the country. 

So far I’ve really had to dig deep to find the enthusiasm to go out for a run on an evening...post early morning wake up, post full day at work, post school/nursery picks up, post dinner, bath and story time....but I’m sooo dedicated to this and getting way out of my comfort zone. I’m so excited to be at the peak of my fitness and be part of the whole 2019 Marathon Team...at the end of the day I’m a natural team player through my netball and I’ll be cheering everyone else on. Anyone who knows me will no doubt be sure that I’ll make a few friends and talk (pretty much) the whole time throughout the experience! Let’s hope I can....!!

Thank you for your support, any donations would be much appreciated. 

Charlotte