On Sunday 3rd October 2021, I will be taking part in the London Marathon and will be representing 'The Children's Society'. 

As well as completing the race, I had planned to run a number of events for local children and adults leading up to the marathon itself. These may be sport, educational or party themed events that will help raise awareness of the charity and the vital work that they do, as well as raising money towards my fundraising target. 

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic not all of these fundraising events have been possible. Therefore, I may end up having to run them after the marathon itself. This will likely mean that I won't reach my fundraising target until after the race. 

As well as the money raised from these events, any donations people can make will be a massive help towards helping me reach my fundraising target of £2620. The target represents £100 for every mile of the Marathon. This will help encourage me throughout the event, knowing that each mile covered will offer some support to the Children's Society.  

The money that I aim to raise will help 'The Children's Society' continue to run their local services for children in this country who feel scared, unloved and unable to cope. The Children's Society is a national charity that helps thousands of children and young people who desperately need our support, who often have nowhere left to turn. They support vulnerable young people across a range of issues, including those experiencing or at risk of child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, substance misuse, mental and emotional health problems, or children who go missing or run away from home or care. The support and money raised for the charity help them make a real and positive difference to thousands of children's lives.

In terms of the Marathon itself, I had previously worked out a target time and had begun training towards this. During this training, I managed to develop problems with Sciatica. These constant and ongoing sciatica pains have prevented me from being able to train properly for the marathon and continue to cause a lot of pain and frustration. I have only just begun my training (4 weeks later than I'd planned) and with just over 7 weeks to go I will be nowhere near the previous target that I set myself. Instead, I will just be to happy to go into the event with minimal pain and hopefully complete the distance!

I will really appreciate any support that you are able to give. Be it a donation, some running or fundraising advice, company during my training or general encouragement leading up to the event. All of the above will be a massive help towards me achieving this goal. 

Many thanks, 

Matt Boynton