Our boss here at Meningitis Now is limbering up to take on the greatest challenge of his running life – the London Marathon
Training in the hills and valleys around the town, CEO Dr Tom Nutt will be joining around 100 other Team Tangerine marathon runners on 28 April to help raise funds for the charity. Last year’s team raised a total of £231,000 for the charity – the aim is to beat this in 2019.
Money raised will go towards providing support for anyone living with the impact of meningitis, raising awareness about the signs and symptoms of the disease, and vital research. This will be the first time Tom will tackle a full marathon, but so far he is confidently taking it all in his stride.
“I completed the Great North Run last year, which is a half marathon, so decided I could go one better this year,” he said.
“Running happens to be something that I do well, but also I was challenged very publicly by our chairman to take on a challenge. When he started talking about jumping out of an airplane I decided running a marathon was a much better idea!”
Confident
So far, Tom has managed to run a full 18 miles in one go. But with only a few weeks before the race he is confident that he will be ready for the full 26.2 miles on the day.
“I’ve always run for both physical and mental health reasons, I find it keeps my head clear and gives me some great thinking time,” added Tom.
He said he was really looking forward to the big day, including joining the other Team Tangerine runners.
“They’re all doing an amazing thing for the charity, all different, with different motivations,” he said. “Some of them are doing it in memory of a loved one, or in support of a loved one, or just because they have some sort of affinity with Meningitis Now”.
Tom himself will be cheered on by colleagues from the charity who will be there to lend support to the whole team – as well as by his partner and their three children. As for his fundraising, Tom said he had already reached and gone past his target of £2,300 but was happy to keep going to raise as much as possible.
“It’s all going to such a great cause, so I am happy to keep fundraising up to the day of the race”, he said. Much of the money raised so far has come from generous friends and family – but I also opened a bar at work which I know was popular so I hope to do that again before the day of the Marathon!”
You’re right Tom – it was popular and we look forward to you opening it up again!
To support Tom please visit his Just Giving page.
