Running for Tommy’s

On 21 April 2024, my trainers will be back on my feet and I’ll be attempting to complete my second marathon. My first was London this year (2023), and I’ll be taking on the 42km route again next year.

Everything went perfectly with the run this year. I hoped to complete it in under three and a half hours, and I crossed the finish line with a time of 3 hours 29 minutes 40 seconds. In 2024, I’ll be aiming to complete the marathon in under three hours. Much more importantly, I’ll be raising vital funds for an incredibly special charity: Tommy’s.

1 in 4 people in the UK experience pregnancy or baby loss. Every baby lost is one too many, and far too many people suffer the heartbreak of losing a baby. Tommy’s is there when the pregnancy journey feels difficult, hopeless, confusing and isolating. I’ll be running in support of this wonderful charity which exists to support the families of those who leave our world too soon.

I’ve started my training nice and early this time round. I ran the Great Scottish Run’s half-marathon route on 01 October 2023 in 90 minutes 53 seconds. It was brutally tough. I really pushed myself, and I was struggling to keep going at any sort of pace towards the end. From what I’ve read, completing a half-marathon in 90 minutes puts you on course to complete a marathon in 3 hours 15 minutes. This means I’ve got a bit of work to do if I want to put myself in with a chance of a sub-3 hour marathon.

I’ve kept training since then and my pace is picking up. I just need to keep going over the winter months.

I’m sure I’ll write a bit more about the training journey as the weeks go by. Until then, however, I’ll just keep on running and try to do a bit more writing too!

Signing off for now,

Simply Dad