When the London Marathon was postponed because of coronavirus (COVID-19), David decided to challenge himself and run his first marathon on his own and raise money for Winston’s Wish.
Why did you decide to run the London Marathon?
Running the London Marathon is something I’ve always wanted to do. I started running last year so this year seemed a great time to give the marathon a go! I followed a 16-week training plan, starting in January – training has been really tough, especially in the cold, dark and wet!
Why did you decide to raise money for Winston’s Wish?
Running for Winston’s Wish was an obvious choice as it’s a charity close to me and my family’s heart. Having lost my mum when I was 15, I know the difficult children go through when grieving. The work Winston’s Wish do supporting children is amazing so I wanted to support them to raise funds and help bereaved children.
How did you feel when the London Marathon was postponed?
During Week 10 of the training plan, it was announced that the 2020 London Marathon was postponed. I was disappointed but it was the right decision for the health and safety of everyone involved.
I quickly decided that I still wanted to run a marathon as I didn’t want my training to go to waste and wanted to do it for everyone who had sponsored me. Government restrictions on social distancing came in so my initial plan to run a marathon with the help of friends running or cycling with me had to be scrapped.
I ended up running my first marathon completely alone. It was tough but the support I received after running it was amazing. I shared my achievement on social media and got loads of messages and picked up lots of donations, so I was really pleased and that helped to take away some of the pain in my legs!
Do you have any advice for others who have had their fundraising events cancelled?
The current climate is a strange one with many events being postponed or cancelled. I wanted to show that despite this, goals can still be achieved – however big or small. Whether it’s a run, walk or cycle, set yourself a target, push yourself, share your story and see if you can help Winston’s Wish.
If you would like to talk to us about organising or adapting your own fundraising event, then please contact our fundraising team on community@winstonswish.org