Why do you want to run the London Marathon?

Below is the response that I submitted to Dementia UK to take part in the 2024 London Marathon - and I was fortunately (or unfortunately?) successful in my application, taking part 21st April 2024, as my first time running distance or taking on a challenge that would put my body through the ringer, so to speak.

Before I get into how I constructed the piece, I want to give a bit more explanation around why I chose to go in for the London Marathon, despite never being interested in running nor attempting to go very far, and why I chose to support Dementia UK.

The London Marathon, to me, was a bit of an enigma. Why would anyone want to run 26.2 miles? What’s the appeal of it? What are you trying to prove? Well, after watching my fiancé do the Birmingham half marathon (on what I’d like to call a very last minute decision, which I’m sure he would contest) and coming out of it relatively unscathed - apart from the IT band damage incurred by getting a 10k PB after getting swept up in all the excitement - he showed me that it’s really not that complicated. Of course, I am simplifying this down to its core, but running is just putting one foot in front of the other. My fiancé showed me that doing things that seem daunting in theory really aren’t that scary in reality. Ish.

I also had become quite close with acolleague who is a serial fundraiser and marathon runner, aspiring to claim all six of those Abbott Majors (and she’s already up to four with her fifth coming later in the year!!). Seeing her repeatedly put her body through those training cycles and distances, sometimes within the span of a few months of each other, also played a big part in me being inspired and getting drawn in by The Enigmatic London Marathon.

Also, for a little bit of further context about me. I emphatically avoid personal failure. Failure, to me, is a weakness. If I’m going to struggle at something, or come up against a blocker that I can’t see a way past, I’ll walk away from it. But with 26.2 miles on the line, I’d have to get home somehow, right? I wouldn’t be able to just not run the marathon - unless I deferred my place. Don’t worry, I’m not a flight risk nor do I crack under the pressure, so I’ll elaborate on this in a moment.

So, we’re at the point of me seriously considering applying for the London Marathon, but I’d missed the general ballot date. However, charity applications were still open. I have a personal connection to Dementia UK, as my Nana (Betty) had been diagnosed with dementia some years ago and sadly passed away in 2020, so I decided to channel this personal connection into doing something meaningful, and raise awareness and funds for Dementia UK at my own physical (and occasionally mental) detriment.

The application is quite simple, consisting of two free form questions: why do you want to take part in the London Marathon, and outline how you plan to fundraise for the charity. Here, I’m going to focus on the ‘why’ as the fundraising plan will be specific to you. Note that I haven’t seen any other London Marathon applications, so everything I discuss is personal to me and the approach I thought would work best and earn me a coveted spot.

Firstly, much like I have in this piece, I needed to set the scene and build some context around myself and my motivations. This is something that I’ll do for most of the content I write, the length of which will depend on the brief and assumed knowledge of the reader. With this application, and with that in mind, Dementia UK don’t know me at all so I felt it crucial to include background to paint a full picture.

I open with a brief introduction to me, my dismal running history, and what spurred me to apply - this is my first ‘why’. I kept this fairly light on information as the application, even though it’s about why I want to take part, isn’t actually about me. It’s about why I want to run for Dementia UK. Bear in mind I could have chosen any charity, and it was imperative that Dementia UK knew why I wanted to represent them.

Following my intro, I then go on to explain - in detail - my connection to the charity. Writing this response was quite an emotional experience as I had to think back over the years and, in a way, relive watching my Nana deteriorate as she did. Leaning on this emotion, as this was another motivation to get me through the training and distance, I needed to outline my personal experience of dementia. Naturally, this meant discussing my Nana and her personality, our relationship, and how having dementia affected her quality of life. This was the main body of my response, as I felt this had the most importance in illustrating my connection to Dementia UK and reason for wanting to run.

I had to make sure I used descriptive language so that the reader understood my personal experience. I needed to make the reader feel what I felt all those years ago, and build a rapport with them. I needed to really drive home why it was so important that I raised funds for their cause, but with my own view. Ultimately, I needed to write from the heart.

Now, I’ve often heard that the way that I write (type?) is akin to how I speak and hold conversations, but that’s not to say I’m not against formal writing or writing in formal tone, as I do know when it’s important to take that angle. However, in this application, my gut instinct said it needed to come from the heart. I chose to write the response exactly how I’d say it, again to build rapport but also to show elements of myself in it as Dementia UK would only be receiving the text, without knowing anything about me or even what I look like. Due to the gravitas of the London Marathon and there only being limited spots available, I felt it key to show some personality as well as vulnerability so that my application would stand out amongst the others. As the ballot is most certainly oversubscribed (with 578k ballot applications for 2024, and 840k for 2025, with only ~20k spots available) it was highly likely that those who didn’t succeed in the ballot would turn to charity in order to have a chance at running.

I didn’t want my response to end up being war and peace - a bit like this explanation is turning into, haha - so after giving detail around my affinity to Dementia UK, I closed out and kept it nice and short. My final motivation: I wanted to help others who had experience the same or something similar. At this point I also linked back to the beginning of the response stating I wanted to prove to myself I was capable, but also highlight the greater motivation, doing this in my Nana’s name. Concise, to the point, and it got me a spot in the 2024 TCS London Marathon.

Doing the London Marathon was definitely an experience. Going back to my earlier point about how I avoid failure, I wanted to do the marathon to simply prove that I could. If I put my mind to it and did something that I openly admit I’m not very good at, what would actually happen? I mean, yeah I did end up with some sore knees and a bit of a bruised ego around my finishing time. But did anything bad actually happen? Short answer: no, it didn’t. In fact, I’d say that the benefits totally outweighed the physical and mental pain I endured.

I went into the marathon training block with a particular mindset and wasn’t ready to accept anything less than what I deemed to be perfect. Well, that went out the window at mile 10 when a horrible wave of nausea hit and didn’t shift until mile 20, so I had to adjust my expectations.

I threw myself in at the deep end by not even starting with a 10k race or something shorter - but that’s who I am, I’m a bit of a glutton for punishment and an all or nothing thinker. I learned a lot about myself, I learned to spend time with myself when I was out for those long runs on Sunday mornings (often in the rain as training was mostly in winter). I learned that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. I learned that not everything has to fit into the ideals that we see on social media and you can do things your own way if that’s what suits you best. I have a new found respect for distance runners, and will continue to run distance to improve my times and get better at running. I learned how important it is to share your journey with others for support and how seeing them cheering you on can make the world of difference when you’re feeling like you’re not going to come out the other side.

Most importantly, I learned that ‘failure’ isn’t daunting at all. I learned that I can, I should, and I will.

What’s the next opportunity? Because I. Am. Ready.

This is going to be a long story, so I’d first like to introduce myself and my reason for wanting to do the London Marathon.

I’m Katie, I’m 28 and I’ve never ran further than 7k total. And I found that hard. I really struggle with seeing things out that I find difficult - but I am determined to try my hardest. My partner recently completed his first half marathon for a different charity (he’s also not a major lover of running), and it showed me that it’s possible to do something when you really put your mind to it. He inspired me to think that maybe, I can do the London Marathon.

Someone else who inspired me to be who I wanted to be, and to put my mind to anything I wanted to? My Nana - Betty Ward. She was the kindest, most lovely human. She always had a smile on her face, she loved everybody she met, and she’d always go out of her way to help anyone she could. As my parents worked full time I spent a lot of time with my Nana growing up and in school holidays. Her and my Grandad used to go away a lot, to Canada to see my Uncle. In 2007, the day after her last trip to Canada, her birthday, she had a stroke. She mostly recovered but this was sadly the first of many over the span of a few years - but she always bounced back even though she was a bit worse after each stroke.

She began to say things that were a bit off-piste… She’d always had a good sense of humour and was always laughing at something, so we didn’t think it was too unusual. She began to ‘not feel well’ fairly often and just wasn’t the same person anymore… She began to forget things, so she went for that fateful assessment. The result was vascular dementia.

I watched this beautiful soul, this wonderful, sunshiney person fall away from me, from all of us. She wouldn’t smile anymore, she didn’t want to talk to us, and she couldn’t look after herself anymore. I still remember the day I realised she’d forgotten who I was. I had to watch my Dad lose his Mum that he knew and had spent so many years with. That was hard. So, so hard. Eventually my Nana went into care for the last 3 years of her life and passed in 2020. The world lost a truly amazing person that day, but really we lost her back in 2007. The last time I saw her was Christmas day 2019. She cracked a smile for a photo with me, the last photo I took of her. Betty Ward passed away 27th December 2020, after her she’d had her dinner and gone to bed (typical, she did love her food!).

If I can do the London Marathon and help Dementia UK, and make this horrible, horrible illness better for even just ONE person, ONE single person, then it’s worth it. I want to prove to myself I can do it for myself, but even more for my Nana Bet. I wear her wedding ring with pride and there’s not a single day I don’t think about her and miss her and her infectious zest for life.

If I’m going to do this for anyone, I’m doing it for Betty.