GfA Senior Sales Engineer Peter Reid will run his 5th London Marathon on
23 April 2023 - nearly two decades after his last London Marathon.
Pete's story:
There were a number of factors that got Pete to put his running shoes back on. During Covid, sadly an aunt passed away from cancer and when Pete went to try on his suit for the funeral, he realised he had put on some lockdown pounds – he had crept up to 19st. Pete thoughtfully reviewed his situation; overweight, a lot less fit and with a 50th birthday on the horizon - it was time to act.
Most of us would have been angry with ourselves, moaned for a few days, and slipped back into old our ways, but not Pete - Pete is a former semi-professional footballer describing himself as competitive, determined, focused and, in his day, fit and athletic.
| Pete has chosen to run the Marathon in support of the charity Children with Cancer UK who actively raise and invest money for vital specialist research to save the lives of every child with cancer and keep their family together. |
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Towards the end of February, his training was interrupted by a three-week injury, which Pete thought had finished his dream of running this year.
However, careful recovery and a determination not to give up have seen Pete run the Liverpool Skyline Half Marathon in under 2 hours at the end of March.
He also hit 16.5-mile and 19-mile distances in training since the injury and has now lost a total of 5st.
He is aiming to complete the course in a time of 5 hours.
Pete is travelling to London for the weekend of the race with his wife, Zoe, daughter, Paisley and son, Joe. It’s fair to say, they’re all more than a little excited. Pete said: “I’ve been really emotional. I always get emotional watching it and I get emotional just talking about it”.
If you would like to support Pete on 23 April, please leave good luck messages and donations on his Just Giving page. You can also track Pete's progress (using his bib number oppposite) on the day of the marathon here.