Bob Chambers

[p]I can hardly believe it myself - but it is true: [b][i]I have now COMPLETED the 'virtual' Virgin Money London Marathon 2020![/i][/b][/p][p]Having protested for many years that I had a 'dodgy knee', I started taking part in our local weekly 5km [url=https://www.parkrun.org.uk/]parkrun[/url] fairly regularly at the beginning of 2019. I then added an occasional midweek run which stretched to 10km by mid April, and jumped to 20km by the end of the month! I ran my first official half marathon in May 2019, and that got me thinking: "I wonder if..."[/p][p][url=https://www.feba.org.uk/]Feba[/url] is a Christian mission agency focused on the creative use of radio and other audio media to inspire people to follow Jesus Christ. Working with partners across Africa, Asia and the Middle East - including some of the world's most difficult places to be a Christian, the aim is to engage with listeners and share with them something of the unique message of God's love.[/p][p]The London Marathon is celebrating its [url=https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/en-gb/news-media/latest-news/item/2020-virgin-money-london-marathon-celebrates-the-40th-race/]40th anniversary in 2020[/url], and I'll be marking my 50th birthday at the end of the year, but we're trumped by Feba's remarkable [url=https://www.feba.org.uk/blog/dacvideo]60 years of ministry[/url]! This seemed an ideal opportunity to do something special as a fundraiser, and the three milestones formed the basis of my ambitious fundraising target. I'd be really grateful if you would please consider sponsoring me to raise funds for Feba's life-giving ministry.[/p][p]I was on track for the original date of 26th April, but things obviously had to be reworked due to Covid-19 and the event was postponed to October 4th. After careful consideration, I decided to go ahead with a marathon distance run on the original date - a local route I named the 'Arun to Adur Marathon' - and you can read about that if you [url=https://www.feba.org.uk/blog/so-it-wasnt-in-london-but]click here[/url].[/p][p]And then - in early August - the organisers announced that the London Marathon in the usual format would not take place at all this year. That was obviously a disappointment, but was entirely understandable.[/p][p]But all was not lost! All previously registered entrants were invited to run a virtual marathon event on Sunday 4th October, covering the 26.2 miles on a route of their own choice; completion would entitle them to receive the medal and commemorative T shirt. Furthermore, everyone would also be offered a place in a future 'normal' London Marathon![/p][p]So, having already completed the distance in April - and thereby honoured my pledge and justified everyone's generous sponsorship - I set out to do it all again on 4th October! I can tell you that it was tough: the combination of a lingering cold, a calf niggle and some foul weather made for a gruelling run. I'd therefore be extremely grateful if you would please consider sponsoring my DOUBLE marathon effort for Feba if you haven't already![/p][p]You might be interested to know that I've been writing a series of short monthly blog updates through my training - please do [url=https://www.feba.org.uk/Blogs/london-marathon-2020]click here[/url] if you'd like to find out more about either of the marathon events or the preparation, including some photos and video too.[/p][p]Thank you so much once again for your interest and support - it makes a tremendous difference.[/p][p][br][/p][p][b]Bob Chambers[/b][/p][p]Chief Executive, Feba Radio[/p][p][br][/p][p][i]PS: For those with a fascination with numbers...[/i][/p][p][i]Let's round up the marathon distance of 26.22 miles to 27.[/i][/p][p][i]£4,050.60 is clearly a lot of money, but if 27 people sponsored me £40, another 27 sponsored £50, and 27 sponsored £60, then I'd be just 60p short of my target![/i][/p]