Noah Jack’s Journey (managed by Just4Children)

I am attempting to complete the Virtual 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon by running and walking 26.2 miles on Sunday 3 October 2021, in aid of “Noah Jack’s Journey”.

Update!!

Just to let you know that I managed to successfully complete the marathon on 3rd October - with a London Marathon official time of 7 hours, 30 mins and 13 seconds!

I started running at 8:30am and finished at 5pm - although I had a few short breaks in between, so my total actual running time was 6 hours 10 mins. 

I broke it down into 26 x 1 mile circuits from my front door around the village, and had great support from family and friends who kept me fed, watered and my phone powered up throughout the whole day, and even accompanied me on some of the laps!

It was certainly an immense challenge but crossing the "finish line" at the end was a fantastic feeling, and receiving my official London Marathon medal a few days later even more so!                                

However best of all is knowing that, thanks to your support and generosity, we have raised a great amount of money for Noah which will hopefully help his amazing family with the specialist care and equipment that he needs.

About Noah

Noah is the great nephew of my very close friends and a special little boy in our community. 

He was born in November 2020 but suffered a lack of oxygen at birth, which resulted in a severe brain injury and a number of other diagnosed disorders, including cerebral palsy and an unsafe swallow, meaning he is currently tube fed. Despite this, he is a determined little boy with an infectious smile and is making progress all the time! 

Every penny raised will go towards providing him with specialised equipment and physiotherapy sessions to help improve his quality of life, give him the opportunity to learn to sit and hopefully walk, and reach his full potential. 

You can follow Noah’s progress on Facebook under “Noah Jack’s Journey”.

About my Race

The virtual London Marathon is affiliated to the official annual London Marathon which is also taking place on Sunday 3 October. However the rules of the virtual race allow you to run anywhere outdoors, and to break the 26.2 miles into smaller sections - as long as the whole distance is covered (and recorded using the official London Marathon app) on that day.

I am not a long distance runner by any definition and can only run about 3 miles (5k) at a time. It will therefore be a real test of endurance for me to run/walk the equivalent of 9 times that distance round my local village over a period of up to 12 hours, in order to complete the marathon within the official parameters!