Personal account of running for a charity
continued...

I realised that I was crazy and was looking at it all wrong. I had a place in a world famous marathon that people try and fail year after year to get a place in, an opportunity of a lifetime to push myself to my physical limits, and MOST IMPORTANTLY I had a golden opportunity to fundraise A LOT of money and do it for something good, for something that may make a difference to somebody else one day. To waste that opportunity would be verging on criminal.

Meningitis Research only had 16 runners in the 2006 Flora London Marathon – the year I ran the marathon – but the modest number didn’t mean I received any less support. They were at the end of a phone whenever I needed them, helped with ideas for the fundraising, supplied me with all the running vests I could possibly need and gave me calls every so often to check I was on track and my training was going well. The organiser, Iain, was running the marathon too and so could empathise with me every step of the way.

I can’t imagine not running the marathon for a charity – for me, it’s the main reason the Flora London Marathon is such a phenomenal event. The support you get from your charity through training and through fundraising is so valuable, and on the day, having thousands of charity supporters (not just yours!) lining the streets and cheering you on is priceless. The atmosphere is astounding and to be a tiny cog in such a massive wheel is a privilege and an opportunity not to be wasted.

And the fundraising wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. People are generous, and running a marathon holds A LOT of weight to potential donors – friends, family and strangers alike – and rightly so.

I can tell you I was grateful for every penny I squeezed out of them. It felt good knowing that every step I was taking was worth even a few pence – so in those moments when I was ready to keel over at mile 22, 24 and 26, I found that extra motivation – and believe me when I say that during those last five miles, I needed every penny!

If you are lucky enough to have won a ‘your own place’ in the Flora London Marathon, don’t waste it. It’s a precious opportunity for both you and the charity you choose – and I can guarantee your experience will be all the better for it. Mine was: the 23rd April 2006 is up there in the top ten most amazing days of my life thus far.

Good luck!

Emma Falkner

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