Raising money with The Uganda (half!) Marathon 2019

You may be wondering why I’m taking part in a half marathon in the baking heat of Uganda. I often wonder that myself!

It’s actually easily explained. I love a challenge in my personal life as well as business (boxing, climbing mountains – all the easy stuff!); I have a passion for travel; I like to do some good for those less fortunate than ourselves (friends and family have helped me raise nearly ￡10k in recent years); and we all want to live life to the full, right?

So here we are, yet another mad Godby challenge. But rather than dragging friends up mountains or into boxing rings, this time I’m pushing myself (and my partner) around hours and miles of training for the Uganda half-marathon (there is a full marathon on the day too, but even I know my limits!).

The Uganda Marathon is not just a run. I’ll not only explore an African community, but meet them, live with them, help them, support them and finally, run with 3000 of them. The Uganda International Marathon has become part of the fabric of the Ugandan district, allowing runners to connect with and support local charities, projects and community leaders across Uganda.

Money raised will go to the The Uganda Foundation, the charitable partner of the Marathon. I’ve chosen the Kakunyu Parents Support Association as my particular chosen cause. Mary Kabiito’s story struck me. She gave birth to four severely disabled children and her partner left her. She decided to set up a boarding school for 31 disabled children. Most of them have been abandoned by their families.

Statistics show that over 200 children die from cancer in the UK every year. Battling terminal cancer is a very scary experience and when the end of the fight approaches, being able to die in a comfortable environment is crucially important. My partner died from cancer and her passion was for the children she taught in her school. Money raised will therefore also go towards the palliative care unit at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, to help make things a little easier for those children in need of end of life care.

Any donations, big or small, will be really appreciated and will go a long way to helping these two fantastic causes.

Please visit my fundraising page here..

Thankyou for reading and for your support.

Matt

You can also learn more about charities I'm supporting by clicking on the links below: