london marathon
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Wayne Firth – one marathon down, one to go…
Wayne Firth a complete novice runner, recently completed the London Marathon and for most of us we’d be more than happy to be able to run one marathon in a year, but Wayne will also be running the Real Berlin Marathon in September.
He has been on a massive sponsorship drive, sending out fundraising requests to local businesses as well as holding a charity evening with a German theme, and organising raffles, auctions, even a charity concert. Wayne has also managed to have articles published in several local publications and has an advert slot agreed with Real Radio.
He is putting all this effort in to raise money for the NSPCC’s ChildLine a charity which he feels is truly worthwhile.
‘Children’s charities are close to all our hearts…Although ChildLine is a national service it is also everyone’s doorstep Charity, regardless of region or area.’
If you would like to sponsor Wayne for his marathon effort you can visit his JustGiving page here.
We at JustGiving wish him the very best of luck with the Berlin marathon and the rest of his fundraising!
Gareth Jones
http://www.justgiving.com/garethjones16
What made you decide to run the London Marathon?
I wanted to set myself a significant enough challenge that would motivate people to sponsor me - the FLM is perhaps the most well known and easily recognised challenge so …. It was my first ever marathon though and I really enjoyed it.
Why did you choose to run for Combat Stress?
I lost my Brother, Craig Jones, in the battle for Mount Longdon during the 1982 Falklands Conflict. In 2002 my father and I had the chance to join 200 Veterans on a pilgrimage to the Falkland Islands to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Conflict. I was able to travel throughout the Islands following the course of the war right through from the San Carlos landing site to the Capital, Port Stanley. We visited Goose Green, Teal Inlet, Bluff Cove and the mountains around Stanley. I was able to climb Mount Longdon with some of the men of 3 Para that actually fought the battle for the mountain and got a first-hand account of what happened. My visit culminated with my father and I laying a small wreath at the exact spot where my Brother was killed by enemy artillery – being a peaty area, the crater was still fully visible.
I also got the chance to speak with the Veterans and hear their stories. It was a really emotional experience and I could not help but be moved by what these once young men had witnessed and experienced – most of them are still haunted by what they had gone through. For many of the Veterans this was their first visit to the Islands, being unable to bring themselves to visit sooner. I witnessed how the pilgrimage helped them bury their demons and to deal with the stress and anxiety that still remained with them so many years after the war officially ended.
The pilgrims were supported during the visit by staff of the charity Combat Stress. They worked tirelessly to counsel the Veterans and talk them through their emotions and troubles. I was in awe of the work they did and the results that they seemed to be getting so I decided to do my bit and raise money for them so that they could continue their great work.
How did you find running the marathon?
I loved it. Having never run a marathon before, I had no idea how I would cope, what the experience would be like - nothing. On the day, the crowd was fantastic! I latched onto a group of runners following a Runner’s World pacer, and got talking to a lady who was an experienced marathon runner - for miles the crowd kept shouting her name and encouraging her “Go on Gilly”"Keep it up Gilly”, “great job Gilly, you can do it” etc - after a couple of miles I asked her how she knew so many people and was so famous? She showed me that her name was printed on the front of her shirt and that people just shouted encouragement!
What helped keep you going along the way?
I had worked out that every mile I ran I was raising £75, and I kept counting off the money. It sounds soppy, but I also knew that the people I was raising money for were struggling every hour of every day - I was just experiencing discomfort for a few hours and then it would stop - compared to their suffering, this was nothing. Plus, how could I not do it and let them down? Servicemen and women do so much for this country and I just have to help them back. At the registration at ExCel, there was a Adidas banner that had a quote that went something like “Some days, I just can’t believe that I can run a marathon - for the rest of my life I will know that I have” - I just stopped and stared at it for a few minutes and thought how wonderful it was, it really bought a lump to my throat; every time I got a bit tired, I thought of that quote and it keep me going.
How will the money you have raised help your charity?
Combat Stress will use the money to support the ex-servicemen and women who find them. It takes on average 12 years of suffering before they contact Combat Stress. Once they find them, they get counselling, support and therapy to help them deal with their problems, its truly amazing and I cannot think of a better charity to raise money for.
Will you keep in touch with the charity?
This is the second year I’ve raised money for Combat Stress and I will continue to raise money for them for as long as I am able.
Would you run the marathon again?
I’ve already got my name in the ballot for the 2010 London Marathon, plus I’m training for a number of other half marathons - I’ve got the bug!
Would you recommend the experience?
Without hesitation - it gives you a renewed sense of faith in people, and a confidence in yourself that last forever.
What’s been good (or bad) about using Justgiving?
I’ve found Just giving a really simple and effective way to raise money. Plus the tips and gadgets are really useful (I’ve used the Just Giving logo shortcut to my site on all my e-mails). Plus, every weeks I sent out a blog to all my e-mail contacts to keep them up-to-date; without fail, within 12 hours of sending out that blog I’d have another 5 to 10 sponsors through Just Giving. Now I’ve done the run, I don’t have to spend ages going round collecting all their money - its done for me!
Susan Liu
http://www.justgiving.com/SusanDoesLondon
Susan ran the London Marathon to raise money for the Paul D’Auria Cancer Support Centre in Battersea.
She has been raising money for cancer charities every year since 1998 when she lost her foster mum Peggy to cancer. Over the last 4 years she has fundraised and volunteered for the Paul D’Auria Cancer Support Centre. It provides a much needed service to anyone affected by cancer - not just people who have cancer but also their friends, family and health care professionals.
We hope all of Susan’s trainig paid off and wasn’t too hot!
Paul’s FLM 09
Paul Gardner’s running the London marathon for the second year in a row.
This year he’s running to beat his record, and he’s also got a close connection with his charity, Baby Lifeline, which makes his fundraising even more of a personal mission.
As something of an experienced Justgiving fundraiser, we’ve asked him to let us in on the secrets to his fundraising success…
Here’s his interview – full of fundraising ideas to help you reach your target.
1. What inspired you to run the marathon again?
Two reasons:
1) Last year I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my right shin six weeks before the marathon so I had to stop training. This year I want to beat that time.
2) The main reason: I am running for Baby Lifeline and a good friend of mine is closely involved with the charity which provides advice, support and equipment to assist pregnant mothers and newborn babies. The charity works closely with maternity hospitals on various projects including Queen Charlotte’s, Hammersmith, where my two children (two and a half years and six months) were born. Baby Lifeline has waited approximately 15 years to receive marathon places.
2. Can you tell us more about the charity?
Baby Lifeline (www.babylifeline.org.uk) came into being in 1981 after Judy Ledger, now Chief Executive, suffered the personal loss of three premature babies. It is a unique national charity offering loving care and support to pregnant mothers and new born babies all over the UK.
Over a ten-year period, the charity raised over £1.5 million and purchased vital equipment for three hospitals in Coventry and Warwickshire - where the charity still has its headquarters. Not surprisingly, Baby Lifeline’s influence and work subsequently spread nationwide and to date it has contributed more than £5 million to Britain’s maternity hospitals and services.
However, it is an unfortunate fact that, even with the advances in medical care and science today, more than 8,500 babies still die at or around the time of birth.
3. Are you approaching your fundraising differently this time?
Yes. Slightly more organised. Last year was very much sending out a few begging emails to friends and family. This year I have approached my company (that’s one of our Justgiving tips!), a couple of suppliers who work for me and I am talking to local businesses. My local pub has agreed to sponsor me and will be holding fundraising events on my behalf.
4. How’s your training going? Any tips?
Following the Runners World sub 4 hour training schedule, which I have uploaded to my Garmin GPS watch. This has helped in several ways:
• Having a defined schedule you know what is coming up and can plan your week around it so no excuse to miss runs.
• By using the Garmin and the PC application it keeps me motivated as I know when my pace is too slow/ too fast/ just right, plus being able to see your results and training times on the PC keeps it interesting and you can track your improvements.
• I also mix up my running training with exercise bike sessions and upper body weight-training in my shed/ gym/ office. This helps break up the monotony of running and leaves even less of an excuse to do nothing.
5. What are you looking forward to about the race?
The whole experience is excellent - it sounds very clichéd but the amount of support given by total strangers is overwhelming. I am also looking forward to being able to give my medal to my six-month-old Claudia as she wasn’t around last year and the medal went to her big brother George. After April 26th they will both have a medal. I am also running with a couple of friends this year rather than alone.
6. Is there anything you’re not looking forward to?
Not really, last year did hurt, but that’s part of a marathon. Possibly not looking forward to the trip home afterwards although I only live in West London - all taxis were gone and I ended up walking to Green Park.
7. What’s your best fundraising tip?
Don’t be scared to ask people - at worst they can say no. Also make sure you approach local businesses, pubs, etc - a couple of donations from businesses can make a huge difference.
8. Where can people sponsor you?
Through my Justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/pauls-flm2009
and my blog: paulsfloralondonmarathon2009.blogspot.com
Thanks very much for talking to us Paul – and good luck reaching your target! We’ve made a small donation to help you on your way.
