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Ben’s Fundraising Story
“Hi, my name is Ben. I never wanted to run.”
“My wife began running to aid in her fitness. I went along to support her and ended up marshalling at a local running event. From this, we joined a local club. I was always in the walking group (remember, I never wanted to run). From this, I was persuaded to try a 5k with a friend. That went horribly. From this I started to run more regularly and it got easier. All was going along well. I had entered a few runs including the Great South Run.
…until December 2023 when my mum became ill. The motivation was gone. Between looking after her, work and a home life running took a back seat. I had entered the 2024 LLHM which was in the April - Mum died in March 2024. I became depressed and was eating anything and everything. I hit 16.5 stone. I made it round, but was an emotional mess for most of it.
During the time Mum was in hospital, Geordie from Street Storage had been messaging me and making sure that I was OK. I had never met him in person, but his messages (along with other people) were a reminder that I wasn't alone and I will always remember that. I finally met him at about mile 6 on the LLHM route. It was lovely to see him. He trotted off and finished in a really good time. I didn't!!
I am now back to running more regularly with my group of friends. Geordie and I still message each other and we always will.
When I was looking for a place for this year, Geordie suggested I run LLHM for Street Storage. So here we are. From a non runner to my 3rd half marathon via achievements, loss, heartbreak, blocks of cheese and most importantly, friendship and support.”
Want to show your support for Ben? Follow the link to his JustGiving page here.
About the Big Day
“What a day! It started off cold. I met Geordie in the start pens. The start was delayed due an incident on the tube. The start line nerves were high and my anxiety was kicking in. Finally, we were off and running. I was on a strict 3 min run, 1 min walk.
Running along Limehouse Link, I saw a sea of people in front and coming towards me. I may have exclaimed 'f**k me, there are millions of us!!'
The crowds were amazing with huge support, sweets and high fives. The dreaded knee issue came back to haunt me at mile 8. I stopped and swapped over my knee support. All was well for the next mile, but then the original knee started to hurt and my hip came.oit in sympathy.
I had been looking at my watch all the way round and I was on for a good time. The competitor in me took over and I started doing maths in my head. I was on for a PB!
Right, head down, run when you can, walk when you can't, just keep moving.
It became apparent that the course was short (no-one was aware up to this point) so I began to run wide to try and get to the 13.1 miles. I saw the finish line, the last little dogleg was a surprise, but the last bit was downhill!
I crossed the line and my watch said 2.40. My chip time was 2.42. This was a 20min PB.
I met up with everyone else and sat down on the curb and took everything in.”
