Andy Hessenthaler raising money for Whizz Kids in next month's race
Andy Hessenthaler will be running this year’s Virgin London Marathon for the second time in three years, and in the process will be raising money for the charity `Whizz Kids.`
The 26-mile challenge will be taking place on Sunday April 21 with over 35,000 people taking part, and Hess, the club’s Director of Football, is looking forward to the event.
Speaking to the club’s official website he said:
“I probably haven’t done as much training as I did last time which I’m a bit concerned about but it’s finding the time to get out there and get the miles in my legs.
“It’s for a fantastic charity called Whizz Kids and the charity supplies handicapped children with wheelchairs and ensures every disabled child has an opportunity to be something special.
“I did it for them two years ago and raised a considerable amount of money which is fantastic. It’s a really good charity and a lot of people run the marathon for them and to see some of the work that they do is amazing and any little help they can get to raise this money is appreciated.
“It’s a fantastic cause and I’m just pleased that they have asked me to run it again this year and hopefully I can do them proud and raise as much as I can.
“For the Torquay game we have a bucket collection and it all adds up to an amount which can go towards helping these kids. If you can then please dig deep.
“I’ve got a Just Giving page - http://www.justgiving.com/Andy-Hessenthaler1 so if you would like to donate through there then that would be good too.
“Last time I did it in five hours which I was a little bit disappointed with. At halfway I felt great but then at 15 miles they say you a hit a wall and I certainly did that!
“I’d like to get under five hours but at the end of the day it’s about getting to the finishing line and raising money and hopefully it won’t be as warm as it was two years ago.
“I think it was one of the warmest they had ever had, if not the warmest. The way the current weather is it’s looking good for a colder day but we’ll wait and see.
“I’ve got a couple of challenges coming up – I’ve got the marathon and then the bike ride in May for `Tour de Kent` and I’m doing the whole 200 miles in that.
“That’s going to test my body a bit – I’m going to get in the gym and get on the road and hopefully I won’t suffer with cramp. If I can keep away from that then it should be more of a comfortable afternoon.”