Entering the London Marathon is one of the easiest things imaginable. I’ve done it the last six years, thus proving how easy it is. You complete a short online form in springtime and then wait for the ‘unsuccessful’ notification to arrive in the post in October, basking in the knowledge that you are a gallant loser in the marathon lottery.
This year didn’t quite work like that. My letter said I’d been successful. As in I have to put myself through the torture of running a marathon, again. Don’t get me wrong, I know how lucky I am and when April 26th comes around and thousands of people are cheering for you around the streets of London I’ll love it. But until then, and April 27th in particular, I’m going to be in pain. A lot of pain.
I know this because I’ve run a marathon before, the Paris version in 2013. The day itself was brilliant. Paris was beautiful, the sun shone and I accomplished something that I wasn’t sure I could do. On top of that I raised over £2,500 for KickStart Ghana, an incredible amount for a small charity.
And that brings me to why I running the London Marathon. If you know me, you’ll know that I don’t like running. And if you’ve seen me run, you’ll know that running does not like me. The monotony of the training, the aches and pains each morning. It isn’t fun.
However, I’m very passionate about KickStart Ghana and the work that it does. Just this summer the charity sponsored a local school to produce summer lessons for 70 children, providing them with an exceptional extra-curricular learning programme. Working with Dynamo FC we ensure that 100 people receive regular, structured football coaching from qualified coaches. Our investments in school infrastructure has made them safer environments, more conducive for learning.
The charity has exceptional volunteers working hard in both the UK and Ghana but as we all know, money is important.
And that’s why I’m running the London Marathon. To raise money to ensure that young people in Ghana can fulfil their potential and have every opportunity to succeed.
If you think it’s only fair that young people in Ghana get the same opportunities as anyone else then I would be very grateful if you could sponsor my pain-inducing efforts, I promise it will make a difference.
Tune in for future blogs on my training and the big day itself.
davecoles 