In 2023, I decided to take on a completely new challenge of running a Half Marathon. From someone who had very little running experience dating back to high school, it is something that I wanted to get back into as the exercise and the challenge of endurance running was something that appealed to me.

After the 2023 Chester Half Marathon, the pride of completing the race and also meeting the fundraising goal, on behalf of the Countess Charity, had renewed my passion for running and also opened many avenues for further challenges.

The opportunity arose in 2024, to again run the Chester Half Marathon which was a challenge wilfully accepted. With this being my second time of running this race, I set a new challenge for myself of beating the previous years time. This was a goal I achieved by beating my time by almost 20 minutes. Again, raising money on behalf of the Countess Charity and meeting target once again.

After 2 years of running half marathons, I decided that there was only one direction for my next challenge, which was a full marathon! The enjoyment of meeting fundraising targets for local and worthwhile causes, in addition to the inevitable challenge of sticking to a strict training regime was a great motivator for me. My hard work was rewarded, by the Countess Charity by awarding a place in the London Marathon 2025, to run on their behalf.

Please see below details of the current Countess Charity appeal that I will be fundraising for:

The Retinal Eye Scanner Appeal -

The Optos scanner produces high quality colour retinal images over a greater area of the retina meaning that our eyecare professionals can identify eye disease in more difficult to visualise areas with greater ease and accuracy. The detailed views provided by this machine provide many benefits including being quick and easy to perform, even in children, improving clinic flow, and potentially earlier identification and treatment of certain eye conditions.

Any support with the £2500 target I have been set by the Countess Charity will be hugely appreciated! I look forward to keeping you updated with all of my fundraising efforts!

Simon Rodriguez :-)