So in a Covid-19 world, things don't turn out the way they're supposed to. And so it came to be that the London Marathon didn't happen this year, which means I couldn't run it dressed as Giant Inflatable Mario whilst raising lots of money for SpecialEffect.

But! I'm doing the Virtual London Marathon instead, on local routes, on Sunday October 4th. Dressed as a normal runner, though. And still to raise money for SpecialEffect!

SpecialEffect is a charity that enables severely disabled people to use technology in any way possible – using whichever part(s) of their body that work best – by adapting tech to their individual needs. It’s so important they can join in with family/ friends, to be included and not left out. This can hugely benefit mental well-being, self-esteem and quality of life -and much needed FUN! Please check out a video of Sam – paralysed during a cycling accident – for an example (it's a positive and inspiring video, rather than tear-jerky one):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZMKpVXPdiY

I've worked in games for over twenty years, so raising much-needed funds for SpecialEffect makes perfect sense. We in games have a lot of work to do in terms of accessibility, but with the help of people like SpecialEffect, we're getting better. 

My fitness just now isn't where it was a year ago, so I'll just be aiming to cover the distance. There's a possibility I'll aim sub-four, but that'll depend on how I get on with my final 36k training run.

I'm hoping that I'll have chance to run the London Marathon proper as Giant Inflatable Mario sometime in the future.