Man to run London Marathon to raise money for NSPCC

Simon Andrews, 37, from Sherborne St John, has been testing his grit and determination with a series of eight half marathons, marathons, and ultramarathons, to raise money for the children's charity, NSPCC.

Mr Andrews, who works for a finance company, is an experienced runner and member of Chineham Park Running Club, explained that his own childhood was "troubled" and is grateful that a charity like the NSPCC exists to help children who are experiencing cruelty. Donate to his fundraiser by visiting: https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/simon-andrews 

Simon said: "Without going into too much detail, I spent much of my childhood being brought up by my aunt and uncle.

Simon at the Silverstone Marathon (Image: Simon Andrews)

"I think the NSPCC would have been a good charity for me back then.

"I wanted to run for a charity that meant something to me, and to be able to do this for the NSPCC, who can help children who are probably going through worse than I did, it means a lot."

Simon already completed the Silverstone Marathon in November, but this year he will tackle the Farnborough Half Marathon in February, the Reading Half Marathon and Prague Half Marathon in March, the London Marathon in April, Race to the King 50k Ultramarathon in June, followed by the Cardiff Half Marathon and the Great South Run in October.

He will also be regularly participating in Basingstoke's Park Run throughout the year.

"It is fun, I promise," he said, "There are a lot of rainy days and cold nights, but you've got to take the good days and bad days."

Mr Andrews explained that he downloaded the app, Runna, which he uses to plan his training sessions.

"I follow this plan to a tee," he said, and my watch says I'm the fittest I've ever been, I'm certainly the lightest I've been in a long time, I can't say I have thought at any point that this [challenge] is too much.

"It has helped me massively with my mental health and physical health, and if I can raise money for kids at the same time, then it's good.

"Yes there is a sense of achievement when you cross the line, but I think that is a bonus, because raising money to help children is the main goal."