2021 Update

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. I'm still moved by all the support I originally received when I announced my aim to run the London Marathon in 2020. Since then, we are still in the midst of COVID19 and I have yet to run the actual London Marathon. But I will do on Oct 3rd (yikes!). So I'm appealing again for you to please dig deep and help support London Youth, a charity that has worked exceptionally hard over the last year supporting young people across our capital. We've all been affected by the pandemic, but it has been particularly hard on young people. Youth services have seen a dramatic decline in local authority funding over the last decade and the past eighteen months have had a significantly hard impact. So many vital lifelines have been lost for so many young people; but it doesn't have to be like this. With the dedication of London Youth and your donation, we can have a big influence on helping to invest in the future of our young people. And every pound raised will push me every step of the way over that finish line. I hope!

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Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Some of you will be aware of my past cycle challenges, and know that although I have completed many a half marathon, I’ve never run a full marathon. This year I will be taking on the London Marathon, inspired by some of the younger people that I run with.

As a mentor with The Running Charity, some of the young people I regularly train with will be running the London Marathon too. Motivated by their dedication I will be running for the charity, London Youth. This is an organisation that creates opportunities for tens of thousands of young Londoners each year through sports development, employability, youth social action, arts and outdoor education programmes.

I don’t think that we can expect a better future for all young people without laying the foundations of a fairer society. This is crucial now more than ever as we start to experience the effects of ten years of austerity. Child poverty is at an all time high, and for the first time in over a hundred years life expectancy has stalled and in some areas gone into reverse. The UK now has the worst trend in health anywhere in Western Europe since the Second World War.

As services are cut, many organisations are relying more and more on charitable funds. Young people are particularly affected. Young people need activities and access to safe spaces for their wellbeing and personal development. Youth clubs and organisations that support young people have been seriously cut in the last decade. As services decline, the population of young people in London is dramatically increasing – they make up a third of the capital’s population. Young Londoners face complex challenges – nearly 60% live in households surviving on less than the minimum income standard; youth unemployment is 2.5 times higher for 16-24 year olds than for 24-64 year olds. And all of this is taking a toll on young people’s resilience and wellbeing. Record levels are struggling with their mental ill health.

So while my aim is to run 26.2 miles on April 26^th 2020, the greater challenge will be to help me raise my target amount to help more London Youth realise their potential and make a positive contribution to their communities. And with your help I’d love to achieve that, because quite simply good youth work works.