Hello everyone and thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

You could forgiven for thinking you've been here before. I was originally due to run the London Marathon in April 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that would sadly not be happening. Nevertheless, I completed the 'virtual' race in October in an official time of 4:29:21. I was then hoping to run again in 2021, only for injury to get in the way, so now I'm going all out for October 2022. I've waited so long that I've even had to start a new fundraising page because Virgin Money Giving no longer exists! Having done the trial run and, at this point, years of training, I'm hoping that I can go even quicker than my previous time, whilst raising more money for my chosen charity.

I'm raising money for the Youth Sport Trust - which is the fantastic children's charity for which I work. I'm doing this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, to support a brilliant cause, which is to ensure every child enjoys the life-changing benefits that come from play and sport. And secondly, it's to give back to an organisation which has done a lot to support me personally, from giving me a job back in 2015, to helping fund my wedding, first home and the arrival of dog Riley and baby boy Magnus. They've also given me seven years of coming to a job I enjoy, surrounded by enthusiastic, sporty, like-minded people, and all the benefits that brings with it. They even prompted the start of my running journey.

In the summer of 2018, I was encouraged to try the 'Couch to 5k' mobile app, which for those that don't know is aimed at helping non-runners build up to a distance of 5km. Desperate to keep up with my colleagues in our weekly after work football matches, conscious of feeling both a little overweight and quite unfit for the first time in my life, I decided to give it a go. I didn't expect to enjoy it.

I was shocked to find that my experience was quite the opposite. Upon completing the app I continued to run three times a week. I began to notice real differences - I was happier with how I looked, happier with how I felt, and happier with my performances in the other sports that I enjoy. I started running for longer and going further - culminating in taking part in 'The Wall' ultra-marathon relay in the summer of 2019 - contributing 16 miles out of a total of 70 covered by the team. It was one of the smaller contributions on the team but I was personally delighted with the progress and that encouraged me to keep going. In September I ran my first half marathon - somehow clocking a time of 1:59:59 - just under my two hour target.

I then decided to try and go one step further in the hopes the Marathon would act as the perfect culmination of what should have been a near two-year journey. Two and a half years further on and I hope to finally run that race! I now can't imagine my life without running. I look forward to it. Plan other things around it. And I've got to listen to a lot of good podcasts! Speaking more broadly, the impact that being physically active every day for the first time in many years has had on me, has underlined the importance of the work YST do. Not everyone will have the helpful prompt that I had to start doing something active - and for young people this is even more important.

If my running can help give more people the experience that I've had over the last four years, then that makes all the training and a few hours of pain running 26 miles through London totally worth it.

Thank you for your ongoing support. Any donations you can give would be hugely appreciated.