For the second time, Monkton Church of England Primary School’s Head of School, Chris Marston, is taking on the gruelling London Marathon.
On April 21st, he’ll be swapping his work shoes for running trainers as he undertakes the 26.2 miles in aid of The Kent Autistic Trust.
The Kent Autistic Trust is a local charity close to Chris’ heart. He said: “All three of my children have ASD and face new challenges almost every day. As a result of their ASD, they found mainstream school incredibly difficult and so we are fortunate enough to be in a position where we can home-school.
“However, many aren’t as lucky and so the trust does so much to help young people who need some support. The work of the charity and the thought of my family supporting me and watching me from their sofa will help push me towards the finishing line.”
Training however hasn’t gone quite to plan. Chris explained: “I was supposed to run in last year’s marathon but developed shin splints about 6 weeks before the big day. Fortunately, I was able to defer to this year and do myself and my chosen charity justice.”
Training this year hasn’t been easy. Chris said: “My leg hasn’t really healed and the pain is still there. I’ve only recently been able to start training again. To be honest though, I’m not taking part to run the best time, I’m just aiming to finish!”
To aid Chris with some last-minute training, he’s invited the children of Monkton Primary to exercise with him at lunchtime.
He said: “The children here are great at encouraging and motivating so I thought there would be no better way to train than do it at school as well as at home. For just 10 minutes per day, we do some exercises together and go for a little jog – I’m no Mr Motivator but the children seem to enjoy it.”
To donate visit Chris’s JustGiving website at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-marston11