On 28th April 2019 the 39th Annual London Marathon will be taking place. The gruelling 26.2 mile race will as always run from Blackheath, past some of London’s most well-known landmarks and finishing with a final push down The Mall.
While a number of people will be keeping an eye on Mo Farah and defending champions Vivian Cheruiyot and Eliud Kipchoge, there are three other names we should also be looking out for. London Youth have once again partnered with TGP to send three of our people to take on this race: Charlie Ramsay, Alex Crabb and Dan Spence.
I spoke to each of them to find out why they have decided to take on this most prestigious of races, what they hope to achieve and of course to hopefully drum up some additional support to help them hit their sponsorship goals.
Charlie Ramsey, Alex Crabb and Dan Spence
So what made you decide to run the marathon this year?
CR: The London marathon has always been something I’ve wanted to do to challenge myself, whilst also raising money for a worthy cause. Receiving a place through TGP and London Youth has made it possible, so I’ve had to go for it!
AC: I felt that this year I needed to challenge myself. I have previously done the charity boxing match for Cancer Research and raised a bit of money for them but it also gave me a big challenge to overcome and I see it as a great achievement. I have always spoken about doing a marathon as it’s something I have never done before or anything similar and feel that this year I can run the marathon, train hard and raise as much money as possible for a great cause. When I was a bit younger I was recommended to attend a youth club to keep me busy and I met lots of great people and it gave me good opportunities to do things I hadn’t done before and I enjoyed attending there.
DS: The London marathon has always been something I have wanted to do. I am the big 40 this year, so it would be a great experience before I hit this.
Do you have any experience in marathon running?
CR: Nothing whatsoever, wish me luck!
AC: I have never done anything like this before - the closest to a marathon I have done was a little cross country in high school.
DS: I have never done a marathon before, but I do keep fit.
What preparation will you be doing in the lead up to the big race?
CR: Virgin have a marathon training guide which I’ve been following pretty much to the book, whilst also trying to keep up with supplementation and dietary needs (it has been a struggle over Christmas…).
AC: I have already started prepping and training before Christmas and I am continuing my long runs and getting in as much training as possible. I have spoken to family and friends that have completed marathons already trying to get as much advice as possible.
DS: I run twice a week, go to the gym 6 days a week. I do weight training and cardio.
And the key question, do you have a target time in mind?
CR: Initially my target was just to finish, however progressing with the training I’m aiming for anything under 5 hours.
AC: My target time is around 5 hours, if I get below 5 hours I will be very pleased.
DS: I’m going for 4 hours, but running with two guys in the team so we’ll stick together.
Finally, do you have a sponsor page you would like to share?
CR: I do indeed - https://www.justgiving.com/Charlie-Ramsay925 
AC: My page link is - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alex-crabb
DS: My page is - www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dan-Spence8
I think we can all agree this is an impressive challenge to undertake and we wish Charlie, Alex and Dan, and for that matter anyone else from TGP who is taking part separately, the best of luck for the race and well done for putting yourself forward for this!
