London marathon – call for runners

Are you shaking out the running gear, stretching the sinews and setting personal goals for the London Marathon? It’s that time of year and we at Rennie Grove know how you feel. For us fund raising is a long haul. Always a marathon, never a sprint. This year we have set a marathon team target of £32,000 – which would pay for more than 1,000 hours of care.

Whether you’re hoping for a place via the public ballot or applying for one of our charity places, we’d love to hear from you. We need runners to join our team if we are to reach our goal.

To secure one of our charity places we ask runners to pledge to raise £2,000. That may sound a daunting figure but we will give you plenty of fundraising tips as well as advice on training. Dave Hilling, chair of Hughenden Valley FC, is a perfect example.

In 2019 he raised £6,500 in memory of his father Arthur, despite initial trepidation about both the running and the fundraising.

“I’m no runner – so this was a huge personal challenge for me. I started with a half marathon then progressed to a full marathon.”

The fundraising, too, took time and effort. As well as asking family, friends and colleagues to sponsor him, Dave hosted a bingo and bubbles night with prizes donated by local companies.

“But to be honest the hardest bit is asking the question. Once I approached people, they were so generous. There’s so much appreciation for Rennie Grove out there in the local communities where their nurses provide care.”

As well as training and fund-raising tips our team members get a personalised running top and join a supportive community of like-minded runners.