Paul Roberts, Regenda Board Member, has been training to run the 2020 London Marathon for Petrus. He recently reached his 100th training mile since we launched our ‘Walk a Mile, Change a Life’ fundraising campaign!
It was on Wednesday 24th June that my marathon training run marked a milestone – my 100th mile since the launch of Petrus’ fundraising challenge ‘Walk a Mile, Change a Life’.
Overall, I must be closing in on 500 training miles and 4,500 minutes since beginning what seems like my never ending training for the (never starting?) 2020 London Marathon, which has now been postponed to 4th October.
I’m very pleased with my progress so far – although my knees and my dog who occasionally joins me for shorter training sessions are less impressed!
But I’m doing this for a purpose: to fundraise for important charities such as Petrus and draw attention to the brilliant work they do, even in the most difficult of times like now.
It feels particularly poignant to have reached this new training milestone for my own fundraising journey while also supporting Petrus’ ‘Walk a Mile, Change a Life’ challenge.
Although not everyone can join me in trying to complete a marathon, there are so many ways to take part in the ‘Walk a Mile…’ campaign – by walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, skipping even!
I opted to run rather than walk as it ties in nicely with my training – however, a lead bike rider in a pack did warn his fellow cyclists to look out for me by shouting “walker” during one of my training sessions. I’ve been called worse, and it had been a bit of a slow one that day due to the heat. To coin a phrase from the 1990's… Scorchio!
As lockdown is easing, many questions are raised around supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, including what is next as accommodation found during the pandemic for rough sleepers returns to its former use.
There are lots of discussions ongoing and I hope positive and sustainable results follow. Meanwhile, at Petrus the support for those who are homeless or at risk and the provision of support services continues regardless. The team as always are working to make a huge difference to people's lives.
If you’d like to sponsor me as I raise funds for Petrus as well as fellow homelessness charity Shelter and Parkinson’s UK in support of my dad, please visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulRoberts117 to donate online.
The next "steps" in my marathon journey are:
- More miles! The next few weeks will probably see an increase in my average miles per week. I'm hoping to do a 20 mile run in late August to be ready for the full 26.2 mile marathon on 4th October.
- Sort running gear for the day. Father's Day brought me a new running shirt – apparently my fine wardrobe of Wrexham FC shirts has seen better days so I have this new shirt which is a strong contender!
- Finally, prepare a Plan B in case the London Marathon is postponed again, because whether it goes ahead or not, I’m determined to run for Petrus this year!