London Marathon 2026
Help me raise money for Tusk, tackling educational inequity in Africa
My story
Back in 2012, I spent a term teaching at Mutunyi Primary School in Kenya. From classes on political philosophy to reading harry potter and a school wide football tournament - the energy and curiosity of the students was as high as anything i'd seen during my own West London eduction.
One day I asked what everyone wanted to do when they were older. Most of the boys said pilots or safari guides. The girls looked back at me quizzically and I immediately realised my mistake. Luckily one of them shouted out "I want to dance" and the room immediately exploded into hands on desk drum beats and dance moves 100 times better than anything I could conceive of doing.
"Right, that's enough back to theories on the social contract", I said.
But the moment stuck with me - what a loss of intelligence and opportunity, both for the girls and the world.
The numbers back then were stark. In this region less than 20% of girls went on to secondary education, and only about 30% of them would make it to the end of that.
Thanks to government initiatives, and local support from organisations like Tusk, the situation now is dramatically different with some reports suggesting transition rates are up to 70% for this region.
One such initiative was the redevelopment of Kilimani Primary School for girls, which provided a safe sanctuary for girls to learn, and pathways to secondary schools, in Isiolo (a city that had some of the worst gender inequality in the country).
Much of this project was funded by my dad's marathon fundraising efforts back in 2012/13. The school is still reliant on grants to succeed and now it's my turn to do my bit - the opportunity created for the students and the impact that then has on their communities is immense, so please donate. If you've read this much you may as well!
Activity Totals
136.33 miles covered
Why do people run marathons? via Strava
Apr 26, 2026, 8:42:27 AMWarning, long read, undeniably too long for stava but I currently can't move so need something to do (and would have done it anyway). Tough all round - I was hoping a tendon strain had fully cleared but it immediately started talking to me as soon as the race started. And not pleasant conversation. Nonetheless it was sub 3 or bust: why? Probably something to do with round numbers and proving I don't know exactly what to myself. Anyway, I tried to take my mind off it by asking why I was doing this (in my head not out loud). For charity? Technically yes and that definitely provided a bit of motivation (please donate!) but the wanting to do this came before the charity, so why? My brain, imbued with frustration that things weren't going to plan, immediately went cynical: you have a very easy life - a comfortable home, never miss a meal, decent job etc - inconceivable by historical standards, so you need to create your own silly challenges to satisfy some kind of primal urge, unnecessarily making life a bit harder for yourself for no discernable benefit. This didn't help the state of mind as my hip, compensating for the tendon, decided to enter the conversation. Then at mile 14 I got a nice boost with a family fly by. Was I running for them? No, but always good to see them and definitely gave me 5 or so km for free. Then, just as started to think maybe I can ride this out the whole way (thats the twisted beauty of a marathon), the dull ache tured into a spasm which turned into a pain. The sub 3 goal, something that some part of my brain had been thinking about continuously for at least the past month, immediately evapourated - and interestingly I didn't mind at all, it had become unachievable so it was irrelevant. A pit stop at a very kind St Johns Ambulance physio, some strapping, and I was back on the road for a slow hobble to the finish. Freed from the oppression of the clock, I started to properly enjoy the atmosphere. It was amazing, the people were amazing. Every 10 meters a complete stranger would make eye contact and shout words of encouragement "come on Sam, keep going, you've made it so far". Why did they care? They were clearly taking a moment to share in my joy, pain, determination. Perhaps they wanted to be part of the race as well but I actually got the sense they, or we all, were celebrating - cheering, high fiving, smiling. Ok we were finally getting somewhere. Why do people run marathons? By the end of the race I think I had the answer. It's a celebration of life. I don't want to get morbid all of a sudden - but running, and a marathon being the ultimate running test, is really the opposite of death. It's the simplest way of telling our bodies that we can move, and we have life. And it's why running is so often connected to fundraising for great causes - it's about vitality in the face of adversity. We're really just saying to each other isn't it great, amist the vast expanse of the world and 100,000s of years of humanity, to be alive and moving right now - and even better together.
A shake out pre marathon via Strava
Apr 25, 2026, 11:28:51 AMHard to know the point of this exactly, but really just doing whatever AI tells me to do at this point
Morning Run via Strava
Apr 22, 2026, 9:36:15 AMAfternoon Run via Strava
Apr 20, 2026, 12:11:21 PMToo many laps of Battersea park via Strava
Apr 11, 2026, 9:55:24 AMHopefully never have to do that again but good confidence booster with 22k at marathon pace - at what cost though with right shin starting to scream but now very much in recovery mode for two weeks
Afternoon Run via Strava
Apr 8, 2026, 4:14:13 PMLunch Run via Strava
Apr 5, 2026, 10:07:23 AMMorning Run via Strava
Apr 4, 2026, 7:47:03 AMTrack via Strava
Mar 31, 2026, 5:53:03 PM1,2,3,2,1 pyramid
Morning Run via Strava
Mar 29, 2026, 7:55:07 AMMorning Run via Strava
Mar 28, 2026, 8:53:20 AMAfternoon Run via Strava
Mar 26, 2026, 1:28:58 PMTrack session via Strava
Mar 24, 2026, 6:50:29 PMDefinitely not the same after hiatus - 1 month to get it back, glad March has 31 days!
The benefits of remote work via Strava
Mar 23, 2026, 2:22:31 PMA 2.30pm run