Making a difference, one mile at a time


This April, Room Leader, Jess, took on the London Landmarks half marathon in support of the life-changing charity, Tommy’s. After lots of dedication to training, Jess completed the course in an incredible time of 2 hours and 3 minutes, raising a fantastic total of £450 for the charity.

I started running two years ago by going to Saturday morning park runs with my partner’s mum – who then suggested we do a 10k! After completing that, I well and truly picked up the running bug and ran my first half marathon in Leicester. Running the London Landmarks route for Tommy’s meant that I could channel my love of running into a fantastic cause. 

When it came to training, however, it’s wasn’t 100% easy and I can safely say that the weather was my biggest challenge. It’s been so rainy, cold, dull and windy and it takes a lot of motivation to go out and train on your own consistently, especially after work. It was all worth it though when I crossed the finish line. 

The race took a fantastic route around some of London’s most iconic buildings and landmarks, from the London Eye to The Shard, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral and Nelson’s Column. So, it provided a good source of distraction. 

The atmosphere along the way was incredible and as I was running on my own it was hugely motivating to see lots of people cheering the runners on. Of course, the  Tommy’s supporters and fundraisers were a great help too!  

I’m delighted to have fundraised such a fantastic total and knowing I had the support of my family and friends behind me really made all the difference and I feel privileged to have ran for such an important cause. 


Loughborough Schools Foundation

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