Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Well, I've gone and done it again. I've put my name down for another London Marathon. Something I said to myself after 15 miles of last year's event that I'd never put myself through again! But here we are again! Look, I do understand that you may be thinking, "Oh here we go again. He wants our money.... again." And yes, I do. But please understand that without you donating, the people at The PACE Centre, and coming to think of it, the thousands of other charities involved, simply wouldn't be able to carry on. They simply wouldn't. However, I also understand that it might be fairer to give you something in return! So I, with the massive help of my fundraising manager..... (My wife, Celine) will be putting on a couple of events. More info will follow but a night out at a top Chinese restaurant in Southsea, with raffle and a Great British Bake Off style event are all in the pipeline. Of course this doesn't stop you from donating simply through this page! And any raffle prizes you could spare would be wonderful. They really make a difference. You can also donate via text, by texting PACE70 and the donation amount (eg. PACE70 £5) to 70070. Please also share far and wide if you can using the powers of social media! To anyone who doesn't know me or if you want to refresh your memory, here's a little bit of my story below. Wish me luck!

 

My name is Matthew Scott and on the 13th of April I will be running the Virgin London Marathon for a charity called PACE. I feel honoured that they have accepted me once again as one of their runners for this year's event.

 

Running a marathon is obviously no easy task for anyone. I was lucky enough to run the Virgin London Marathon 2013 for PACE, so although I am excited about taking part again and confident I will complete the course, I also fully understand how tough the training for this event will be, as well as the meticulous planning that will have to be done to accommodate for any "bumps in the road" that may arise during the event as a result of my being Type 1 Diabetic.

 

Since last year's event I have competed in a number of races to keep in shape, including the 2013 Great South Run which I completed in 1:20:26 despite having a leg injury And having to run into some of the strongest winds recorded in recent times! (No tears please!) In addition to this I have started to compete in triathlons, which has been extremely tough as I was previously a fairly weak swimmer, this however, has helped my fitness levels further and has been a really fun, new challenge. Hopefully the swimming will also help relax some of the inevitable aches and pains I'll receive from five forms of training sessions per week! This, together with a lot of stretching and regular (very painful but essential and hugely beneficial!) sports massage from the fantastic Sports, Remedial Massage and Physical Therapist Keren D. Lowe ITEC (Dip)., MITPI., will help get me through! I don't say any of these things to moan and groan, but to help you build up a picture of what I'll be going through in the next few months.

 

As I said earlier, I will be running for a charity called PACE. The PACE Centre is based in Buckinghamshire and is a centre of excellence for helping children with severe disabilities such as cerebral palsy. Not only does PACE help children on a day to day basis, it also enables them to transform their lives and the lives of their families through its one on one, intensive teaching methods. They also provide families with a fantastic amount of support, lots of practical advice and information, as well as access to a network of families in a similar position.

 

I applied to do the marathon for PACE as my nephew Jamie Reddy has cerebral palsy. Jamie was born in 2010 with a life-threatening heart condition, and had to undergo emergency surgery immediately. As a result of the stress, he suffered a stroke, and for a while no-one was sure how Jamie would be affected.

 

I am pleased to say that with Jamie’s enthusiasm and perseverance, as well as the support of his family and the help of The PACE Centre, he has learnt to walk and now zooms around behaving like any other young boy. He has also started to speak and certainly knows what he wants, especially when it comes to food and his certain favourite toys!! However, he isn’t just any young boy. His development has been delayed and he still favours his right side, especially in the use of his arms and hands. On top of this, doctors are unable to tell us what sort of problems he may encounter both physically and mentally in the future. But with the help of The PACE Centre, children, like Jamie, are able to live a healthy, happy life to reach their full potential and as I’m sure you will have seen in the London 2012 Paralympics, can go on to achieve unbelievable feats… We are hoping to see Jamie representing Team GB in future Paralympic Games!

 

As a charity, The PACE Centre needs to raise hundreds of pounds every day to be able to provide the valuable care that they offer to Jamie and many other children in a similar position. You can watch a lovely video of Jamie at The PACE Centre in the 'gallery' section of this page. In addition to this, at the bottom of this section of writing are some ideas of what your donation could contribute towards.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

 

Please donate anything you can, no matter how small, every donation counts. It really does. So please dig deep and donate now. Last year we raised £3003.56! Let's see if we can beat that! Thank you.

 

Matt.

 

 

 

What your PACE donation could pay for...

 

£10 can pay for:

 

·A 250x180mm mat, for children to practice at home what they learn at PACE each day

 

· A fibre-optic plume to encourage visual tracking, scanning and focusing

 

· 2 hours rental of a specially configured trike to foster independent motor co-ordination whilst providing full postural support

 

·A tub of Thera-Putty to develop hand and finger strength

 

·A ‘Big-Point’ recordable switch for children to record their own voices and listen

 

 

 

£20 can pay for:

 

·A set of wooden sequencing beads, to help children develop foundation perceptual skills as a basis for higher learning

 

· Yearly membership for a child to a special needs toy library

 

· A soft bowling set to encourage gross motor skills and hand/eye co-ordination

 

· An additional Penfriend predictive text software user licence, which can allow our children to type more quickly, easily and accurately

 

 

 

£30 can pay for:

 

· A Pal Pad switch, which can allow a child to access communication aids and computer equipment

 

· A 30 minute session in a hydrotherapy pool

 

·A set of chewy tubes to practice biting and chewing skills

 

· A physio roll to improve core strength and motor co-ordination

 

 

 

£50 can pay for:

 

· A grasp bar, for children to practice standing, sitting and posture

 

· The opportunity for one of our youngest children, like Jamie, to attend a Parent & Child session and work with one of our skilled therapists for half a day

 

· Sensory accessories to use with an interactive story

 

· A sensory tactile mat to promote balance and motor skills

 

 

 

£100 can pay for:

 

· A half day home visit by one of our therapists to work with children and their families within their own home

 

· A wobble switch, which can allow children with significant motor disorders to access computer equipment

 

·A walking ladder, to help our children learn and practice standing and walking skills

 

· A ladder back chair – to help our children within sitting and standing

 

 

 

£200 can pay for:

 

· Specialist phonics software to help develop the literacy skills of all our children

 

·Teaching materials for the whole year for our Holly Group – a dual placement group who spend time at PACE as well as their mainstream school or nursery, which is a group that Jamie hopes to attend when he is ready for school.

 

· Specialist sports equipment for one of our classes

 

·An initial assessment for a child by one of our skilled therapists

 

 

 

 £500 can pay for:

 

· An Inclusive Technology touch screen to allow our children easy access to learning-based computer programmes

 

· One of our youngest children to attend a special Parent & Child residential programme for one week at Craighalbert School in Scotland

 

· Teaching materials for a whole year for one of our full-time school groups