Andy Runs The Royal Parks Half Marathon

Sunday 9th October 2022

Oops…..I just said Yes!

Have you ever had one of those moments where you agreed with great enthusiasm to do someting (without thinking it through)…for a good cause you really believe in, and then 24-hours later….wonder what the heck you’ve let yourself in for?

And then you tell yourself…

Oh, don’t worry…it’ll be fine.

That’s exactly what I did recently when I agreed to run The Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for the NSPCC - (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), one of my favourite charities.

Just one problem…

I’m almost 50 and I don’t run….not even for a bus!

Training….what’s that?

Oh, and did I mention…I don’t like exercise, so I never run anywhere. And, just to make things worse, I didn’t do any training for the 13.1 miles (21 kilometers) half marathon.

Nonetheless…..

It was an amazing experience and despite the dodgy knee I really enjoyed it.

Lifted by the crowd

The enthusiasm and encouragement from the crowds along the route was fantastic and they definitely inspired me to keep going. My chip time was 2:55:26. Phew!

Thanks for your support!

Many thanks to everyone who so kindly donated to the NSPCC. Together we raised £476.97 + £95.00 Gift Aid, a total of £571.97.”

PS. If you’re wondering why it says, Andy on my shirt. No, I didn’t change my name in the hope of trying to get out of running 13.1 miles. Which by the way was much easier than I anticipated. I really enjoyed taking part, despite my aversion to exercise.

Matt is my author “pen name.” Andy is my birth name. And as I was running for charity, I chose to register under my real name.