A marathon charity effort (From This is The West Country)

A marathon charity effort

12:20pm Friday 28th September 2012 in Cornwall

A first time marathon runner has gone some distance to reaching his fundraising target thanks to a charity auction held in Helston.

Terry Lander held the event at Helston Football Club ahead of his London Marathon run in aid of St John Ambulance next April.

His target for fundraising is £1,625 as a minimum donation for the charity and as a result of last Friday he now has £1,200 towards that total.

In addition to the auction Terry organised a raffle, while brave 'victims' Chris Stringer and Allan Osborne had their legs waxed to raise some extra funds.

Terry said Gary and Angie from the football club put the fee for the use of the function room into the charity pot and the disco and auction was run by Mike Williams of Proper Job Disco for no charge.

Terry said: “I would like to thank all who made bids prior to the event and to everyone who turned up to support us on the night, including Mary Lander, Simon Strong and Gemma Strong who have helped me with many tasks around the event.”

Terry first applied for the London Marathon in 2006 and has applied every year since.

This year he decided he had been applying for so long he would go through a charity bond place, which was offered to him by St John Ambulance.

Terry said: “I chose St John because my father has been involved with them for nearly two decades and they are one of the less supported charities, despite being present every weekend at functions and events across the country.

“I've never done any kind of running before and this decision has stunned a number of my friends and family, most of whom are looking to sponsor me to stop me trying to get out of it.

However, with the £1,200 raised and an extra £300 already in the pot I only need to raise another £150 before next April and any chance of escape is quickly vanishing - not that I'm actually looking for a way out!”

He has been training since May and has recently completed his first 10km race, giving him some event experience and helping with his overall training.

Terry now has two more 10km races in October, as he looks to extend his overall mileage.

He is blogging about his experiences at http://fatguyathon.blogspot.co.uk/ Readers can support Terry's fundraising attempt by donating through www.JustGiving.com/Lyvit2013