Hi, I'm John, thank you for visiting my page and considering donating to a wonderful cause! I have recently decided I would set myself the challenge of running a solo hilly trail marathon with only 5 weeks notice, and am currently trying to squeeze in as much training as I can.

I was signed up for Paris Marathon 2020, for a third year in a row, which was cancelled due to Covid-19. Having realised that the rescheduled October date is unlikely to go ahead, I thought, why not use the opportunity to push myself and run an even more challenging marathon (there are no flat roads in The Cotswolds!) AND raise money for charity. Barclays are doubling all donations too!

I have been fortunate enough to spend lockdown with my wife Rowan and her family, at their home in the stunning Cotswolds village Painswick. It is surrounded by demanding off-road trail runs through forests and hills in the rolling Five Valleys. The route I have picked for the marathon is a punishing course which takes me up hill pretty much all the way, totalling a vertical ascent of 1.5 kilometres - which, to put into perspective, is a higher climb than Ben Nevis!!!

I wanted to dedicate my fundraising to a charity that is always in great need of donations, but that is under particular pressure owing to the current climate. After speaking with my amazing mentor, who heads up Philanthropy at Barclays Private Bank, it was clear The Trussell Trust would be a fantastic choice for devoting my fundraising endeavours to. It is a charity where you know exactly where your donation is going and that it will have an immediate, simple and vital impact: to feed families across the country who would otherwise go hungry. I personally cannot imagine what it must be like to worry about when I will next eat or if/how/when I will have my next meal. 

Last year, food banks in Trussel's network provided more than 1.6 million emergency food parcels to people in crisis. More than half a million of these went to children. It’s not right that people can’t afford the basics. With your help, we can help end the need for food banks. As a nation, we expect no one should be left hungry or destitute. Illness, disability, family breakdown or the loss of a job can happen to any of us. With your help #ThisCanChange

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If you can donate I would be so grateful. It will make every blister, ache and chafe worth it. 

Lastly, Barclays are generously DOUBLING all donations!!

Many thanks,

John