Sunday 3rd October 2021, a humid and cloudy day in the mountains: A guy, 20yo is running for multiple hours, another guy escorting him on a bike (for safety). None would think much about this scenario. No atmospherical music, no crowd cheering,  just Malte (relaxed on his bike), me (focused) and the thought of 42.195 kilometers ( a very long distance).

Why?

Running a Marathon has always been a personal goal for me so I decided to participate in the LONDON VIRTUAL MARATHON 2021 on October 3rd 2021. The event took place virtually due to the pandemic, that means every athlete could run the distance on their own route, wherever they are around the Globe. My run therefore took place in South Tyrol, in the middle of the Italian Alps.

To give my run a greater purpose I committed to this challenge to raise money for a charity called WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation which is the worlds leading charity dedicated to the protection of whales and dolphins. https://uk.whales.org/about/our-achievements/

I wanted (and still want) to spread awareness about the importance of whales and dolphins in our oceans for the global ecosystem. They are crucial in our fight against the climate emergency as they absorb carbon and help with the production of oxygen. Whales and dolphins capture and help to lock away carbon from the atmosphere, their faeces fertilizes the vast floating forests of phytoplankton that take carbon dioxide out of the air and pumps oxygen back in. Whales are like giant swimming trees and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that just one whale could have the same climate impact as 30,000 trees!

So In my opinion these Animals are worth the effort and worth saving and protecting, not only from the point of view of an animal lover, but also from a rational perspective, as we are in the middle of a more and more urgent situation of Climate Change that affects not only the animals but every single living being!

My run might be over, but the Message is still definite!  I did this to showcase that through many small steps, great things can be accomplished. It really is not easy to run a Marathon alone, it is painful both physically and mentally, but, you don't have to run a marathon, you don't even need to stand up, but you have the power to add one more little step to my cause in the form of a contribution. Every small donation helps to make the difference and the charity is extremely grateful for ever cent/penny and further more, as you might already have experienced, it feels amazing to be part of, or to help a movement that has a positive effect on our wonderful planet and it's inhabitants.

Thank You !

Simeon von Aulock

Please Note: 

-The amount can be changed manually.

-The hosting page "JustGiving.com" will ask for a percentage of the donation but this amount can be manually reduced to 0% so that the whole amount goes directly to the charity.