Thousands of fundraising events across the county have had to be cancelled or postponed. One of the largest of these being the Virgin London Marathon which should have taken place on Sunday 26 April. It is the world’s biggest one-day fundraising event and raised more than £66.4 million for thousands of charities in 2019.
This year’s London Marathon has been postponed until 4th October but head of our agency, Dan Barber, has found a way to raise money for excellent causes close to his heart and still run the gruelling 26.2 miles.
Dan had been training hard since October 2019 and was approaching the business end of training when he found out it had been postponed. His training was geared towards a sub three hour marathon with the hope of raising £6,000 across three charities:
- Health Poverty Action who help vulnerable women and children around the world and who gave Dan his marathon place
- Macmillan Cancer Support who do an incredible job and are currently helping one of Dan’s best friends
- Heat Link Children’s Charity who’s existence helped to save the life of Dan’s youngest daughter who underwent major heart surgeries at the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester
Dan’s Story
Dan is 45 years old and his previous personal best had been 3 hours and 12 minutes so he was planning and hoping to run this year’s marathon around 30 seconds quicker per mile. It was this challenge that he hoped would allow him to raise the larger sum of £6,000 as opposed to the £1,500 – £2,500 typically raised by individual runners. However, the postponement was announced amidst the break out of Covid-19 and at the same time he became unusually ill having travelled the previous week. So training halted for 2 weeks whilst he went through what he believes was the Coronavirus. He was not officially tested but had crushing back and chest pain, a persistent cough, temperature, fatigue and the loss of smell and taste which is the only lasting symptom that he is trying to shake off.
#treadmillmarathon
Two weeks in and Dan was starting to feel better. It was approaching the 1st of April so without announcing anything to anyone he started gently jogging again – completing one mile on the 1st of April on his treadmill at an extremely slow pace.
He carried this on every day – doing a mile for each day of the month until he got to the 5th.
At this point, he decided to go for it and let family and friends know that he would continue training and complete one mile for each day of April, either by running or cycling. And, on Sunday the 26th of April at 10am (the official start time of the postponed Virgin London Marathon), he would embark on a full 26.2mile marathon entirely on his treadmill in one go.
Dan aims to complete this in under four hours. By doing it on the treadmill and in the doorway of his open garage door, it will also help to emphasise the importance of adhering to the government’s guidelines of self distancing and exercise.
The aim is to raise £6,000 across the three charities listed above. With the training and the final day marathon on the 26th of April, 2020 Dan will have completed 351.2 miles in April alone either by static bike or running. Any money raised beyond £6,000 will be donated to the NHS.
If you’d like to help him reach his goal, Dan’s charity link is https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DanBarber74
Donate Now
See Dan’s progress on Instagram @treadmillmarathon
We wish him the best of luck for Sunday!
The 2.6 Challenge
Dan is not the only one determined to raise money despite the postponement of charity events. People and organisations have come together to launch the 2.6 Challenge to help save the UK’s charities in their most desperate hour.
#twopointsixchallenge
The 2.6 Challenge can be any activity you like – from running 2.6 miles to holding an online workout with 26 of your friends. Take a look at the website for ideas on how to get involved and raise money for your chosen charity.
