MATTHEW'S MARATHON

Our very own Mr Ward - 4th Degree Black Belt, instructor and inspiration to us all, completed the 2025 London Marathon as a charity runner on behalf of the Eve Appeal. This cause is extremely close to his heart, and we ran a competition within the club called "What's the Time Mr Ward?", offering students the chance to guess his final finish time in exchange for donations to his fundraising efforts. And what a time he ran!

Matthew's words after completing the run;

Over six months, hundreds of hours, and thousands of kilometres. After so many cold, hot, wet, windy, early, late, tiring, blistering, burning, aching runs, I raised over three thousand one hundred pounds for charity by running forty-two point two kilometres in three hours, twenty-eight minutes, and fifty-six seconds.

On behalf of myself and my wonderful mum, thank you—to our friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, and kind strangers—who have so generously supported our goal to raise money for The Eve Appeal. Together, we have come one step closer to creating a world where all gynae cancers are prevented or detected at an early stage. That speaks far more to your generosity than it does to my skills as a fundraiser.

The first half of my marathon felt strong, but as the heat built through the day and my legs began to cramp and seize, the second half became a battle against both mind and body.

I thought about how much easier it would be to give up, but I kept thinking of the incredible support you had all given. I knew I could keep going for the same reason I applied in the first place: to make the world just a little bit better than before.

We at the club are incredibly proud of him and all he does for us - awesome effort!

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