“I’m going to London. I’m going to London.” Imagine me prancing around my living room and repeating this phrase in a sing-song voice, and you’ll get an idea how excited I am about running the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon.
When I started running in 2010, my main goal was to get fit and maybe complete a 5K one day. Four years and a whole lot of 5K’s, 10K’s, 15K’s and Half Marathons later, I’ve yet to run a full marathon and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to. 26.2 miles is a LONG way to run! I said that if I ever ran a full, it would need to be special. I didn’t want to run Boston or New York, because “everyone” does that.
One day our pastor asked, “Would you like to run the London Marathon in 2014?” What? Really? I still had not decided I wanted to run a full, but if he was issuing an invitation, “Heck Yeah!!!” The race was scheduled for April 2014, but I was still in school at the time, finishing my degree, and wasn’t sure how I could put in the training time, carry a full course load and miss a weeks worth of classes to travel. Sadly, I had to request a race deferment to 2015, and happily the request was granted.
Fast forward to today. I am officially registered to run the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon on April 25. To say I’m nervous is an understatement. London is a huge race, it brings out many elite runners who are after the $MONEY$ awarded to the top finishers and I really don’t want to finish last. Since the race is so popular with professional runners, spots for us average folks are quite limited. Normally London is a race you must qualify for. Even with a qualifying time, runners are not guaranteed entry. All potential runners go into a lottery, but not me. I am considered a charity runner, running in support of a mission’s organization called Links International, so my spot is guaranteed. Yay, that makes one less thing for me to stress over.
While my entry is guaranteed, I am responsible for all expenses related to the trip; airfare, lodging and meals. Plus, running under a mission’s banner, means I also have to fundraise for the organization. This trip means so much to me, I get to combine two of my passions running and missions into a single event. I can’t do it alone though. Would you be willing to support me prayerfully and/or financially? To financially support me personally to cover my expenses, you can give directly through the Links USA office at https://linksusa.cloverdonations.com/marathon/.
My missions fundraising goal is £3500 GBP (about $5500 USD). If you would like to help me in my fundraising efforts and donate to Links International, via my Virgin Money page, this link will take you directly to my missions support page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/beckyjmiller.
Whether you decide to support my trip expenses, my fundraising commitment for Links, or both, all donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Thank you so much for not only helping me realize a dream, but helping to spread the gospel through tangible acts of giving.
London, here I come!!!!
Love, Becky