I'm about to run my first ever marathon.  26 years and 2 months since joining World Vision I'm hoping to run 26.2 miles and raise £2,620 as part of team World Vision for the children of Syria.  I'm tired from the training schedule.   I'm scared I won't make it. But I'm excited to be running with friends and colleagues and determined that together we will bring a bit of World Vision orange to the Milton Keynes marathon and make 5th May a day that makes a difference for the children of Syria.  

Encounters with Syrian children have left deep imprints on my heart over the past two years.  Tasnim.  Youssef.  Hamed. Isaa. Asmaa.  Alaa.  Habib.  Taghrid. Talar. So many more. Each with tales of loss and suffering beyond words.  Each just one face, one name, one story amidst the millions that weave an unending tapestry of human suffering and injustice that is scarring and stealing the lives of a whole generation of Syria's children.   The world cannot let this stain on our humanity continue.  More than 3 years into this conflict it's easy to feel angry, impotent or despairing.  I've felt that myself.  But Tasnim, Isaa and Asmaa give me hope.  World Vision's incredible staff in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Syria give me confidence.   I've seen first hand how they're making a huge difference bringing foodd, shelter, water, protection, education, love and care to literally hundreds of thousands of children.  I know that every individual act of human kindness can bring relief to their pain.  So, whatever pain I face as I struggle to run mile after mile of my first marathon pales into insignificance.

So, please join me in bringing hope to Syria's children.  Sponsor me to run my first 26.2 miles.  If just 100 of you donate £26.20 then we'll contribute a quarter of our £10,000 Team World Vision total which will help us protect and educate hundreds of Syrian children.  JustGiving makes this simple, fast and totally secure.

You'll also make this old World Vision veteran a very happy man, completing my dream of running a marathon before I'm 50 and doing it for a cause I've given over half my life to.   

Thank you

Justin