Luke’s story
18 Months after an operation for Bowel Cancer, Luke Davis is running his 2nd Marathon in memory of his amazing friendship with Matt and to raise funds for the Matt Palmer Trust.
Luke & Matt were very close friends from school and this year's Marathon is on the day of what would be Matt's 44th birthday. Having tried to secure a place in the London Marathon for years, it was a big surprise to secure a place in the main ballot this year with the race being Matt's birthday.
The Matt Palmer Trust's current fundraising focuses on funding Mental Health First Aid training to give people the skills and confidence to support people when they face mental health first aid challenges.
Luke's story:
I realised a life-long ambition to run the London Marathon last year. I’d entered the ballot for nearly 20 years with no luck and only managed to secure a place when I had cancer and was able to run for Bowel Cancer UK.
At the end of the race last year, the ballot for 2023 opened and while still feeling the post-race high I entered and joked that if I were successful I would love to run for the Matt Palmer Trust as it felt a bit like cheating fundraising for any other charity. I put the Matt Palmer Trust on the waiting list to be given Charity places a few years ago but it’s massively over-subscribed and unlikely to come through any time soon.
Fast forward a few months and the results come in and sure enough, I’ve not been successful in the main ballot again. But wait, what’s this? There’s an extra ballot for people that ticked the box to donate their entry fee to charity. I had to double-check a few times (probably as my eyesight is starting to go) and I’d managed to get a place after all!
So on Sunday 23rd April I’ll get to run my 2nd London Marathon, 18 months after my operation to remove bowel cancer. And as if by fate, 23rd April is the date that would have been Matt’s 44th birthday! I can picture him laughing at the coincidence and the thought of making me train for months to celebrate his birthday.
Unlike last time, there is no minimum fundraising requirement but if anyone would like to support the Matt Palmer Trust you can do so here.
All donations will go directly to paying for people to be trained as Mental Health First Aiders. The Mental Health First Aid accredited course gives people the skills and confidence to support others when they face mental health first aid challenges. Something needed more than ever and an important step to helping prevent suicides.
Fundraising Targets
All funds raised will be passed to the charity irrespective of whether my target is reached, not reached or exceeded.
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