Hi All, thank you for visiting our JustGiving page.

My Dad, Simon and I have decided to run two marathons in the space of three weeks to raise money for WellChild (80%) and The Prince’s Trust (20%)  

On Sunday 5th April we will be running the St. Tropez (South of France) marathon and then on Sunday 26th April we will take to the streets of our capital city for the London Marathon. It’s a daunting prospect!

My Dad has previously run the New York marathon and I have always wanted to run a marathon and raise money for charity. So, having never run a marathon, why not take on two!

Why WellChild? WellChild provide care for seriously ill children and young people who need long-term or complex care, helping children to leave hospital and be cared for at home – giving the children the best chance to thrive in life. See the attached link to the WellChild website for more information. https://www.wellchild.org.uk/

In 2012 my Dad organised and took part in Lo.St! - a charity bike ride from London to Saint Tropez, cycling about 840 miles over the course of a week to raise money for WellChild. Then in 2016 he organised and rode Lo.St Again! another bike ride and this time I was involved. We cycled over 850 miles in 7 days from the bottom of Italy to St. Tropez. This was an amazing experience and its inspired us to want to carry on raising money for WellChild.

After completing the challenges, we were invited to the WellChild awards. This was a heart-warming and inspiring evening in which we heard about and saw the amazing work that WellChild do and the happiness their work brings to the children and their families. When we were considering doing these marathons for charity, we didn’t have to think twice about raising the money for WellChild. 

The Prince’s Trust: We have decided to donate 20% of the fundraising total to The Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust raise money and support vulnerable young people by helping them get their lives back on track after being homeless or in trouble with the law. 

I am currently on my placement year at CH&Co, the fast growth independent hospitality catering company.  The Prince’s Trust is their principal charity.  I am really enjoying my time at the company learning about it and generally a working life.  I am also grateful to them for providing me with the opportunity and we wish to support their charity which is another great cause.

Why Saint Tropez? From a young age my parents have been going to the area and I’ve been going there since I was born. We were fortunate that my Grand-parents owned a place in Port Grimaud and it reminds me of many happy childhood memories.

On a lovely summers day last year in Saint Tropez, we saw an advertisement for ‘Marathon du Golfe de Saint Tropez 2020’. Dad said, “I’m going to do that”, and at first, I laughed it off and presumed it was all talk. However, he continued to mention it and as time moved on it started to become a serious consideration. We both started training in September and haven’t looked back!

Why London? We live just outside of London and know several people that have run the London marathon and to a man have said it’s an amazing experience. So, when we were offered the chance to run it (having already booked Saint Tropez) –we just couldn’t say no. It will be incredible running on the streets of our capital city and in one of the biggest marathons in the world.

We are both excited, nervous and determined to raise as much money as possible and do the best we can for WellChild. 

We each have target times.  My Dad is aiming to beat his New York time (albeit 15 years after he did it!) of 3 hours 53 minutes.  I am hoping to run under 3 hours 20 minutes. Fingers crossed! If you want to set either or both of us a challenge when sponsoring  - on each race or across both - it will certainly spur us on to maybe run that bit faster!!  

Thank you in anticipation of your support,

Rory and Simon