Northampton man takes on self-guided marathon to raise funds for charity that supports disabled people

A local man who has only just rediscovered running is taking on the challenge of a self-guided marathon.

Martin Bramwell will be taking on the Milton Keynes Marathon for Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disable People (QEF).

The marathon will not be completed in the usual format and runners will instead self-guide around the course on a date between September 6 and 19.

Turn-by-turn navigation and GPS timing technology will ensure a runner can complete the course and have their time checked and recorded on the leaderboard.

Dad-of-two Martin, will be taking on the adapted race on behalf of the charity that provides services for more than 6,000 disabled children and adults to maximise their independence.

The 47-year-old said: “QEF is our chosen charity for the company I work for, Select Surveys, and before Covid hit we had lots of fundraising events planned but that has since proven difficult due to the social distancing rules.

“I wanted to do something myself to raise some money as I know the charity has faced a hard time financially.

“I’ve been training by running around 15 miles in the week and anything from half marathon to 20 miles on a Sunday, so I have really been putting my all into this.

“I only recently started running properly again and as this is my first marathon and first organised event, I know I am going to be nervous the night before the big day, so I want to feel as prepared as possible.

“It’s a great shame that is not going to be a proper event as I was looking forward to being pulled along by other runners’ energy, but I am definitely looking forward to it and making QEF proud.”

Money raised from the event will go towards the charity’s ‘Survive and Thrive’ appeal which was launched in June to help mitigate the losses it has suffered due to the impact of Covid-19.

Jolene Ryan, events development executive at QEF said: “We are so grateful to Martin and everyone at Select Surveys for their support.

“Every penny truly does count at the moment for our charity and we wish him the best of luck for his race.

“We are always looking for companies to support our work so if you have a charity of the year scheme, please do get in touch.”

To support Martin, visit his JustGiving page.

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