For the first time in its history, the charity was succesful in securing a spot in the iconic race, and members of the local community were able to apply for the chance to run for the Foundation. I was ultimately chosen as the recipient of the place, meaning I’ll join thousands of others on 27 April 2025 to participate in the marathon.

This is the first time the Foundation has had a marathon place, and it’s an amazing opportunity to raise some money for them. With programs stretching across the local community and helping people from all walks of life, the Foundation is a huge community asset that couldn’t survive without fundraising and donations.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for us,” said Lincoln City Foundation CEO, Martin Hickerton. “We’ve had 10k spaces before, we’ve been involved in the half-marathon – but this is a significant step up. The fundraising potential from the London Marathon is incredible, we’re just really grateful to have our first ever spot.

“Fundraising is essential for what we do. We have 30+ staff now, but volunteers help make us a much better delivery outfit. If it wasn’t for fundraising last year we wouldn’t have broken even, it’s as simple as that – so anything we receive we’re very grateful for and we put to good use.”

Fundraising will begin at 2 pm on Wednesday, 20th of November, and you can donate here.

Friends, followers, family and anyone else – please note this will be the last time I come, cap-in-hand, looking for sponsorship. This will be my last sponsored running challenge, so please give generously!

Why I Want to Run The London Marathon

Honestly, I really didn’t.

I have run a 10k race, no more (competitively), and the thought of running a marathon just never occurred to me. Why would anyone do it to themselves? Why would I do it?

Then, a chance meeting at the Priory Academy presentation event in October. I went to the Foundation HQ at Sincil Bank for the book presentation and Martin Hickerton, CEO of the Foundation, jokingly asked me if I’d considered applying for the London marathon place they had going. I had not (obviously) and laughed it off as madness. Me? A marathon? More chance of platting fog.

You really have to appreciate the magnitude of this for me. I didn’t run at all until January 2022. For almost two decades I was a daily smoker, I lived off junk food and beige dinners. I drank quite a lot, and at one stage, my weight got close to 17st. In 2018, I had a back operation that involved rods and screws. I was as far away from being a runner as you can get.

Still, after speaking to Martin, I got back in my van and drove home. Over that 25-mile journey, I began to wonder. What if I actually applied for the place?

Ever since I started running, I’ve been doing things for charity, and while I don’t always get a buzz from actually running, I do get a buzz from running with a purpose. Each 10k I’ve done (and the SW team as well) has raised money for good causes, with the Lincoln City Foundation right at the core of that. I admire their work across all walks of life, pushing hard to make life better for young and old in our community. I know I can’t keep asking people to donate to me running 10k when I do that once a week for ‘fun’ anyway. The one way I can help, one final time, could be by running 26.2 miles in one of the biggest running events on the planet.

Now Martin’s suggestion had taken hold, and I got home and mentioned it to Fe. Obviously, there was a squeal of excitement and a huge amount of encouragement. I spoke to two other people I know—Dayle Rowson and Mark Preston, both keen runners and people whom I respect for the amount they put into running. By the time the sun set, I decided to apply. By the time I woke up, I had decided not to.

I gave it a push on my channels, hoping someone else might apply as well. There must be better runners than me out there who wanted it. I’m sure there was, but it was fear making me hope I was unsuccessful. Fear that I couldn’t do it. I’m not a runner, after all.

With a couple of days to spare, after making sure I’d amplified the opportunity to as many people as possible, I applied. This wasn’t just me putting my hand up and going, ‘I’ll do it’. I wanted to understand why I was doing it. I wanted to ensure my motivations were beyond just wanting to run in an event. I do get a kick out of raising money for charity; I like thinking that I’ve created a platform that can help others. I want to use that to help those people. It all stems from my aunty, a cancer survivor who benefitted from the wonderful Fighting Fit sessions the Foundation do. I want to help the Foundation help everyone else’s aunties, uncles, mums, dads, or loved ones. By doing this, by pushing myself into the unknown, I knew I could do that.

I emailed my application on a Friday and went out heavy the next day, a Halloween fancy-dress event that pushed my liver into the unknown. A week passed, and the decision hadn’t been made. I went to Germany and ruined my health with beer (which I’ll pack in after Christmas), cigars (gone already) and bad food (moderated). I arrived home after the Chesham FA Cup game on Monday night at 1 am and went to bed, waking the next day written off. I stumbled through the day, not thinking about the London Marathon at all, and I went to sleep just before 5 pm to recover.

Then, my phone rang.

I can’t fully explain the feeling I got when Martin told me that my application had been successful. I couldn’t cry; it wouldn’t be befitting, but I welled up. That was 20 minutes ago.

Okay, you’re reading this once it’s official, so it is likely the end of November, but I’m writing it on Tuesday, November 5th, and I’ve just found out that I’m running the London Marathon on behalf of the Lincoln City Foundation. It’s an honour I can’t begin to express adequately. I have a big fundraising target (£2000), and I have a lot of training to do. The next five months will test every inch of my strength, resolution, and determination. I’m at the start of a journey that, in 173 days, will see me complete the most famous marathon on earth.

Expect to be bombarded with updates on my progress, the challenges I’m facing and how it will all help people in the community. I’ll spread those across this platform and (to avoid saturation here) across my personal site as well. My fundraising commitment is £2000, and I want to ensure I achieve at least that for the Foundation. I’ve got some exciting plans for additional fundraising, from a bespoke football shirt (in conjunction with the Foundation) to a book (a sequel of sorts to Suited and Booted).

The main focus, however, will be running. I’m going to push my body to its limit and do something I never, ever thought I’d do. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I plan to.

You can get in early and sponsor me to run 26.2 miles across London here