Chris takes on the London Marathon for Jessie May

On Sunday 3rd October, Nine Feet Tall Senior Manager Chris Southgate will be taking part in the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon, raising vital funds for our charity partner Jessie May Trust. This year the 26.2 mile event will be the world’s biggest marathon ever with 50,000 competitors taking to the streets of London and an additional 50,000 runners competing around the world virtually. Chris will be joining the runners in London on the day.  

Chris is using this opportunity to shine a light on the amazing work Jessie May do in providing specialist at-home care for terminally ill children and their families in the South West. Jessie May Nurses provide vital respite care, emotional support, end of life care, and bereavement support alongside family events that help create treasured memories. Fundraising is underway, with a target of £1500 by race day in October, which could fund an additional 5 days of specialist nursing support and care. 

Chris is a keen trail runner with challenging off road marathons under his belt. However, he has never run a fast road marathon. Determined, he has set himself a challenging target to complete the distance in under 3 hours and 15 minutes. To prepare, Chris will be running between 50-60km over 6 or 7 runs per week, mixing easy distance training and harder interval sessions to prepare for the event. Rather him than us! 

“This will be my first road marathon and first one with a time target. Running well on the day means really balancing tough and consistent training with proper recovery and regular yoga, as well as focusing on eating and sleeping well over the next four months. As a father the work they do really resonates so I’m delighted to be able to support Jessie May and hope we can break my £1500 target.”  

You can follow Chris’s progress on Instagram here and you can donate to his fundraising page here. Good luck Chris, we’re all cheering you on!