Gemma's Marathons to the Marathon Des Sables

Welcome to my fundraising page. 

On 3rd April 2020 I will be travelling out to the Sahara Desert to take part in the Marathon Des Sables this race holds the title of the toughest footrace on earth. 251km though the Sahara desert over 6 days, completely self sufficient with temperatures reaching over 50*C.

As well as this I am aiming to be an abbott 6 star finisher which means completing all of the World Major Marathons, London, New York, Chicago, Berlin, Boston and Tokyo.

So far I have completed London three times (2017, 18 and 19). New York 2017 and Chicago 2018. I will be running Berlin in September 2019. I hope to get into Tokyo and Boston in 2021.

My mission was to initially raise £10,000 for Anthony Nolan by running all of the Abbott World Major Marathons, however after London 2018 I had exceeded this target so the plan is to raise as much as I physically and possibly can.
The more money the more potential life savers we can add to the donor register.

Throughout this fundraising Journey I have also ran the Grand Brighton Half 2018 and 2019, the inaugural British Airways Half Run Gatwick 2018 and the Wimbledon Half 2018.

Between now and the Marathon Des Sables I have planned The Prudential Ride London - a 100 mile closed road bike race through London and Surrey. My first Ultra Marathon - South Coast Ultra Challenge 100km at the end of August , BMW Berlin Marathon in September, Royal Parks Half Marathon at the beginning of October and Snowdonia Marathon towards the end of October. 

Thats a lot of miles...


This time 3 years ago I had never ran further than 4 miles and now I have trained for and completed 5 World Major Marathons, 4 Half's and all of the above planned.



I am putting myself through all of these miles of training and Marathon running to Raise Money for the incredible Anthony Nolan in Memory of my Dad - Sid Challacombe. We lost him on 23rd August 2005 to Mantle Cell Lymphoma, he began the process of finding a match for a Stem Cell Transplant however before it got any further he lost his life.
My reason to run and raise these funds is to give others a chance that my Dad never had.


Thank you so much for your support, I appreciate this is going into the third year running I'm asking for donations, but my gratitude is immense. After my challenge is complete I will take a step back from the fundraising side and I will instead give my time as a volunteer.




 



A Bit More About Anthony Nolan

Every day, Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with a blood cancer or blood disorder. They do this by matching incredible individuals willing to donate their stem cells, to people who desperately need a lifesaving transplant. They also carry out cutting edge scientific research, fund specialist post-transplant nurses and support patients and their families through the transplant process and beyond. They won’t stop until they save the lives of everyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Every penny you donate brings them closer to that day