Our campaign director kick started our community fundraising initiative yesterday by cycling the route of the London Marathon. Here is his story.
Yesterday morning, undeterred by a light rain and a heavier hangover. I set out to do my first ever marathon. Running seemed a little beyond me at this stage so I did it on my bike. Unfortunately since I didn’t have the foresight to move to a house at the start or finish lines, it ended up being a 40 mile round trip.
The view 20 miles from the start of the marathon, 30 miles from homeI completed the marathon part in 2 hours and 35 minutes, meaning that even on a bicycle I am not as fast as Haile Gebrselassie. Althought, in my defence, the traffic stopped for Haile Gebrselassie and Haile Gebrselassie didn’t spend twenty minutes lost in Rotherhithe.
It was a real privilege to be the first person to complete an event for the Sri Lanka campaign. My objective was simply to test the system and show how anybody can set up an event to raise money for Sri Lanka without needing to sacrifice enormous amounts of time and effort. Therefore I was delighted that your generosity and devotion to the cause of peace and justice in Sri Lanka meant that we not only made our original target of £300 but also the revised target of £400. Maybe we can now make £500?
Sterner challenges lie ahead, not least my triathlon in the spring, but every penny raised is greatly appreciated. With the Government of Sri Lanka, the remnants of the LTTE, and the international community all failing to develop the truth, reconciliation and respect for rights necessary for a lasting peace – our work becomes more important than ever.
Are you inspired to answer the call and get involved with community fundraising for Sri Lanka? If so please visit our community fundraising website, and find out how you can join up with like minded people and bake, run, swim, play chess, hold coffee mornings, or climb mount Everest for Sri Lanka.