Q&A with Marathon Runner Will

Will stands in front of a brick wall in his garden. He is wearing glasses and holds a white t-shirt in front of him.

We are delighted to introduce you to Will who will be running next month's London Marathon in aid of the Fashion & Textile Children’s Trust. Will, who is 24 years old and works as a Transformation Manager at M&S, will be flying our colours high and all the funds he has raised for the marathon will be donated to FTCT.

He has set his sights on raising £2000 for our charity, which will certainly go a long way to help the hundreds of families contacting us each week.

We are incredibly proud of Will, who embraced running at the beginning of the year in what started as a New Years Resolution and has now become a passion. He has spent many hours running in preparation for the marathon, and we are very excited to cheer him on and see him to the finish line.

We had a chance to sit down find out more about Will and we hope you will be as inspired and touched by his story as we are. 

Why not give Will your support and sponsor him here 

Why did you decide to run for the Fashion & Textile Children's Trust?
I became aware of the charity through my Dad, who has worked for years in retail and particularly fashion retail. I also learned that many M&S colleagues had benefitted from the FTCT over the years and so thought it would be a great cause to choose. When I got to meet the team I learned about all the amazing stories of children they had supported and decided then to run for FTCT!
Read some of our families stories here

Have you always been a runner?
I have never really been in to running, picking it up basically from scratch as a new years resolution in January 2022. My resolution was to run a total of 10km in the first week of Jan, and then to run 1km further every week for the rest of the whole year. I soon became obsessed with running and now eight months later I'm still on track with that original target, even though it's getting harder every week (this week I need to run 43km!)

Is this your first marathon?
Yes this is my first marathon - I did my first half marathon race a couple of months ago which was amazing, but I can't imagine having to do double that distance!

Below: Will pictured running The Big Half in September 2022

 Will running in the Big Half, giving a thumbs up to the camera.

What are you most looking forward to about this year's London Marathon?
I’m really excited for the atmosphere of thousands of people running and all the supporters cheering - it's going to be a once in a lifetime experience.

How is your training going? Have you had any highs you want to share?
One high would probably be the Battersea Park Half Marathon race that I ran with my friend Gaby a couple months ago. It was the first time I could really test my fitness from all my training I had done over the cold winter months and it paid off in a time much faster than I could have ever hoped for (1:39!).

How are you feeling about the race and how do you stay motivated?
I’m a bit nervous about the race as the furthest I've ever ran is 25km, and 42km is quite a bit further than that… I'm hoping to run 30km this Sunday so I'm hoping by slowly ratcheting up the distance on my weekend long runs will make it seem easier on race day! I stay motivated by thinking of all the amazing ways the money I am raising will help children who need it most with thanks to the FTCT.

Below: Will is pictured on the far right at the Piddle Wood 10k, in June 2022

Will stands on the far right of the picture with a group of friends after running the Piddle Wood 10k.

How is your fundraising going and are you doing anything in particular to raise funds?
Fundraising is going well so far, although I have a long way to go still to reach my target. So far I've posted my story on various social media sites and with work - I'm hoping to do a bake sale at the office soon and a fundraising party too to raise extra funds and help me reach that goal amount.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to run the marathon for charity?
I would advise you to do it! It's an amazing experience, running makes me so happy and you know you are raising money to improve other people's lives too. It's a win-win!

Why not give Will your support and sponsor him here 

 A family of our button figures hold pom poms, to cheer our runners along. They are different tones of blue and pink.

Feeling Inspired?

We welcome anyone who feels passionately about supporting our charity and wants to fundraise for us. You can sign up to one of our fundraising events or name your own. We will be here to guide and support you along the way. Contact us for more information. 

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