Breaking news (again!) (22nd June 2009)

In case any sad soul ventures back to these pages, I have now sent the last cheque off to the ABF and have pretty much put the marathon behind me. I'm developing the middle-age spread to prove it, too (although in desperation, I've resumed running to try and control it!)

The good news is that, thanks to the outstanding support of colleagues at Thames Valley Police, friends and family and some very generous organisations (ICTS, Northgate, i2, ABM, in particular), I have managed to raise £3,401. 

And that makes it all worthwhile! 

I'm sure the ABF will make good use of it. Thank you for your generous support.

Nick 

Breaking News! (26th April 2009)

It is a really long way to run. And today was hot. And I'm not as young as I used to be. And my knees/legs hurt. And I ran a PW -'personal worst' time. But I got round in 4 hrs 54 mins - a shade longer than the promised 4hrs 45 (below) and was glad it was all over! And when all my promised money comes in, I'll have raised well over £3,000 - which is about 3 times my original target. Thanks to everyone who has already supported the Army Benevolent Fund, via this page - and thanks to the few who will no doubt do so. I am very grateful indeed. 

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Thank you for visiting my sponsorship page. I hope you'll help me raise some money for the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF). I'm preparing for my third London marathon and am determined not to sprint round and miss all the lovely sights. Instead, this time I'm planning a leisurely 4 hours and 45 minutes. Look out for number 11444 on the telly - it won't be moving too fast to read!

I'm very grateful to ABM, who got my fundraising off to such a promising start. They are very nice people indeed. And then there are the extraordinarily nice people at Northgate - who, through Iain McLachlan and Joel Scott, have whacked an extra £500 on to the total. Even after the marathon, i2, the massively respected analytical IT company, weighed in with £200 - fabulous! Thanks to support like this, I can keep revising my target ever upwards. 

I am also benefitting from the kind support of ICTS-GIS. They are the canine division of ICTS(UK) Ltd, specialising in the provision of drug and explosive search dogs who are trained to ACPO standards at police dog training schools. They have delivered both proactive and passive canine drug screening capability to a number of police areas: working in the night time economy and in schools, supporting police work. The canine division is based at Didcot and is largely staffed by former police officers working to recognised standards. I am grateful for their support. 

For over sixty years the ABF has worked tirelessly to provide support to serving soldiers, former soldiers and their families in times of need. The people they support include those with disabilities or mental illness, people experiencing homelessness or unemployment, and older people.

Dependent on voluntary donations, the ABF must currently raise around £5.5 million each year to continue its vital work with members of the Army Family.

You may already know that donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: the Army Benevolent Fund gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!