After a lot of talk, I'm finally taking on my first marathon in Edinburgh on 25th May 2025. As added motivation I am running to raise funds for the Spartans Community Foundation which does fantastic work supporting the local community in North Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is generally regarded as an affluent city, however, there are some concentrated areas of multiple deprivation on par with the most deprived areas in Scotland.

The Spartans Community Foundation undertakes a huge amount of valuable work, developing and delivering innovative programmes in youth work and education.

The Foundation's youth and children’s provisions are always free to the young people who attend, helping to remove barriers to participation and the associated stigma of being unable to access leisure and social activities.

Educational attainment is a challenge in North Edinburgh and the Spartans Community Foundation has developed innovative ways to support learning in the local community through its Alternative School for secondary school students (where young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream education or who may find school a challenge, an alternative place to learn, grow and develop), Youth Work in Primary School and Education Officers in local primary schools.

Any support you can provide will help the Foundation continue its valuable work delivering a range of youth work, education programmes and health and wellbeing programmes for young people in North Edinburgh.

Thanks for your support.