London Marathon 2023: Support Will!
23rd March 2023
Much of Earthwatch Europe’s work wouldn’t have the impact it does without public support, including the wonderful fundraisers who have run (or walked) the London Marathon for us. Hear from our marathon runner Will why he chose to join our team this year.
Will preparing for the London Marathon 2023 which will take place on Sunday 23 April.
Why did you decide to run the London Marathon for Earthwatch Europe this year?
I was keen to support a charity that has the largest impact on humanity possible. The climate and biodiversity crisis that we find the world in affect every person on earth. The recent IPCC report highlights the lack of progress being made on climate and the effects that are coming within our lifetimes. The COP15 summit on biodiversity painted a similarly worrying picture. Nature needs repairing if we are to bring down emissions, and Earthwatch Europe are doing amazing things here in the UK and around the world to help with this. I was inspired by their stories of citizen scientists helping to collect data to feed into environmental research and blown away by their Naturehood and Tiny Forest programmes supporting wildlife and making our cities greener.
You joined a Tiny Forest Tree Planting Day in Buckinghamshire this March. How was that experience?
I’m grateful to Earthwatch for giving me the opportunity to spend a morning helping to plant 600 trees (yes, 600!) for a new Tiny Forest down the road from where I live. It was an amazing moment when I looked up after carefully planting my first handful of saplings, to discover that, as a group of volunteers, we’d already planted over 200 trees in just 20 minutes. I had been stood in mud, now I was stood in a forest. It really shows you what humans can achieve when we have some enthusiasm and a common goal.
Have you taken part in the London Marathon, or a similar fundraising event, before?
I’ve done a few fundraising things in the past – I organised a few years of sponsored skydives for my colleagues to help them raise money for their chosen charities, and I’ve run a couple of half-marathons to raise money for Action for M.E. and Mind. My fundraising for the London Marathon 2023 is going well and I’m indebted to all those who have donated to my JustGiving page over the last few months.
How is the training going at the moment?
Training has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster so far. I started training six months ago and was running a half–marathon distance by Christmas. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of January and February dealing with various minor injuries, and so it’s only really been since March that the training has felt “back on track”. I ran 16 miles last weekend, and it felt fantastic as I passed 13 miles, which was previously the furthest I’d ever run… every step was a new PB!
How can people support you?
I appreciate any donation big or small via my JustGiving page.
- £15 could buy vegetable plants for an urban school as part of Green Earth Schools.
- £25 could buy freshwater quality testing kits for our FreshWaterWatch volunteers.
- £50 could support our community monitoring events at our Tiny Forests.
Inspired to take part?
Applications for the London Marathon 2023 are now closed. Contact our Fundraising Team today to register your interest for the London Marathon 2024 and join our team next year: fundraising@earthwatch.org.uk
What we offer our fundraisers
- Personal support via email from our Fundraising Team
- Training tips from a qualified running coach
- Virtual meetings and exchange with other runners
- Free runners vest sent ahead of the event
- Cheerful support from Earthwatch staff members on the event day