I'm running the York Marathon for St. John's Ryhall!

St John the Evangelist’s Church has been at the heart of Ryhall village for more than 800 years — a place for worship, celebrations, remembrance and community life. As well as regular services, the church also hosts community events such as the Churchyard Champions gardening events, activities with the local primary school, and plays a big role in the organisation of the village fete!

To protect this 800-year-old building, two major restoration projects are required. The first phase was the mammoth restoration of the roof, completed in 2022. The church is now watertight and protected from the elements. The next stage of refurbishment will focus on the inside of the building: renovating the floors, heating system, lighting, and restoring the servery, plaster and decoration that all need urgent work so the church can better support worship and be used more easily by the wider community.

This phase of restoration is expected to cost around £200,000. I am trying to raise 1% of that by running the York Marathon on 18th October 2026. I am not a natural runner; before starting the training for this, the furthest I had ever run was 10km. Now I have set myself the challeng of running four times that! Please donate to help St John's renovation and support this worthy cause!