Having spent a large part of the past decade+ persuading people what a great idea it is to visit Sierra Leone and run a marathon for Street Child ... I thought it was about time I give it a try for myself.

With 2023 being the 10th edition of the race it feels like there is no better time.

A self-classified 'non-runner', attempting training around work and two small people, I suspect I won't find this quite as easy as I have made out to hundreds of participants over the years!

The work that Street Child do is phenomenal and the work in Sierra Leone is especially important to me. When I started working at Street Child in 2009, Sierra Leone was ranked the poorest nation in the world and Makeni (the home of the marathon) was our first project to help one hundred street-connected children. I spent several months living in Makeni working to support this project. Today in Sierra Leone, 36% of children do not complete primary school and many more leave school without foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Without intervention, children risk getting stuck in a cycle of illiteracy and poverty. Street Child are doing brilliant work to change that and I hope that in running and fundraising, as part of the Sierra Leone Marathon, I can play a part in changing things for more children in Sierra Leone.

Please give generously ... this is going to hurt!