Scott is running the Brighton Marathon in aid of Create A Dream Foundation

We would like to introduce Scott... Scott is running the Brighton Marathon in aid of CADF next April and this is his truly inspiring story. We are honoured that Scott has chosen us to benefit from his fundraising alongside his journey to greatness! Thank you for sharing, Scott...

"On April 19th 2020 at 9:45am I will be stood on the start line in Brighton, ready to run my first ever marathon at 37 years old, just 14 months after first taking up running. It will be a 26.2 mile battle, both physically & mentally.

Why would I want to put myself through this?

In August 2018, I was at my lowest point, and close to having a mental breakdown. I’d been struggling in silence with my mental health for more than 2 years. It all came to a head one day & I admitted to friends & family that I was struggling to cope. The support from them, and the counselling I was referred to by my GP, were fantastic & really set me on the road to recovery. The good news, was I finally learned through the counselling how to deal with feelings and situations. I’d already been going to the gym for over a year, but needed something else as well. I was encouraged by my friend & coach Lee Freeman to take up running. On the 25th of February I did my first ever run and although it was horrendous, I found a new passion.

Fast forward to 22nd of October this year, with running having had such a positive impact on my mental health, and giving me a hunger to challenge my physical capabilities, I was determined to run a marathon. Having been unsuccessful in the ballot for London, I paid the fee & entered Brighton 2020. On receiving my confirmation, my initial feelings were a mixture of excitement & dread. How am I possibly going to manage the distance? Have I given myself enough time to train properly? Oh yes, the training. I have absolutely no idea how to train for a marathon. I just go out and run for the love of it. I need to get serious.

Once it had sunk in that I was actually going to do this, my thoughts immediately turned to how I could use this as an opportunity to do some good & maybe help people. So I decided I would run it to raise money for charity and share my journey in the hope of inspiring others to donate. I also hoped to show people that if I could do it at 37, then they could do it too. It’s never too late to start looking after your health. I ate & drank myself into a terrible condition before changing my lifestyle at 35 years old & I’m now fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been.

The first charity I thought of was Create A Dream Foundation. In fact, it took maybe 2 seconds to decide this was the charity I wanted to raise money for. I’ve followed the progress of this charity from the very beginning. Although I don’t know Adam Ainger personally, I was put in contact with him a few years ago when he was running a Last Man Standing game that I wanted to get involved with. To keep it short, it was a game he ran where you paid £10 to enter, and it revolves around picking football teams to win each week. The winner got a nice prize and a percentage of the pot was donated to various charities. As time went on, as we all now know, he decided to set up his own charity. The work they do is amazing, and they rely purely on donations, and are not for profit. Along with being local to me, it made it a no brainer, and hand on heart I can say it’s an absolute honour to be able to do this for them. The difference this charity makes to these children’s lives is incredible, and anything I can do to help them, now & in the future, I will do.

So having contacted the charity, and setting up my funding page, there’s now just the small matter of training these legs & lungs to be able to actually do what I’ve committed myself to doing. I work 12 hour shifts, days & nights, so fitting proper training in will be tough. But at the time of writing this, I’m about to start week 6 of my training program. I’ll be averaging around 4 to 5 running sessions per week. In total, I will have 129 training sessions covering 572 miles to get me ready for the big day. It’s not always pretty. Running in the wind & rain for miles on end, but I’m really enjoying it. And by following a proper training plan, I’m seeing more improvements in my running. Being outdoors, in the fresh air, being free, is something too many of us take for granted. I am so excited to get to Brighton and do myself, my family, friends & the charity proud. This will be the first of many challenges I take on, so you will be seeing more of me fundraising in the future too.

If anybody would like to make a small donation, please visit his Virgin Money Giving page. All donations will go directly to Create A Dream Foundation.