Sunday, August 26, 2018

London Marathon Here I Come!

Next on my World Marathon Majors bucket list is the 2019 London Marathon! It will be my 4th WMM and 5th marathon (so far). It will also be my first time fundraising for a big event...

I've been trying to get into London for years (much like most of the marathon running community who want to complete all of the majors - Chicago, Boston, New York, London, Berlin, & Tokyo). The growing demand for lottery placement combined with my affinity for a slow running pace (which rules out any chance of me getting in based on time) has resulted in zero success in getting a spot in the marathon. So for 2019, in addition to entering the lottery (again), I applied to run with some of the charities.

And I got in...
I'm not just excited that I got selected for a charity spot (that in and of itself is pretty awesome), but it's the type of charity I will be running for that is most exciting for me.

I've been a Pediatric Trauma Nurse for over 13 years and worked in various ways to care and advocate for pediatric trauma patients. One special "sub-population" that's close to my heart are those children affected by child abuse. I have spent the most recent years of my profession developing guidelines on child abuse, collaborating with other professionals across the country to improve the way in which we evaluate and advocate for these children, and presenting at national conferences on increasing our awareness of child abuse.

For the 2019 London Marathon, I will be running for the only charity that actively works to prevent child abuse in the UK...
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has a long standing history of advocating for children who have been abused, and recently providing education and resources to minimize the risk of abuse. The stars aligned perfectly to allow me to combine my passion at work with my passion for running.

"EVERY CHILDHOOD IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR"

And so the fundraising campaign begins! Even though the London Marathon is seven months away, all my planning starts now. I'll be putting together my training plans and working on travel logistics towards the end of the year, so for right now I'm going to focus solely on fundraising. That's where I need your help!

I need some fundraising ideas! My fundraising page through JustGiving is live: LeAnne's 2019 London Marathon fundraiser for NSPCC, so please check it out, donate (any amount helps), and share the link if you can (I would really appreciate it!).

But I also need suggestions for other ways I can raise money (please leave a comment below if you have any).

Have you ever run the London Marathon?

If you've been to London... what's your favorite place to eat? And favorite thing to do there?

What are some of the best fundraising ideas you've seen (or tried yourself)?