A Great Run For A Great Cause

Guy Mace embarks on an adventure of a lifetime, running the Great Wall Marathon in China next year on behalf of St Wilfrid’s Hospice, and he needs your support!

 

Guy Mace only started running two years ago. From very early on he realised just how beneficial this huge lifestyle change was going be for him in terms of his physical and mental well being. Previous issues of SBT have covered Guy’s background and early progress, and now he’s making leaps and bounds – literally – towards the Great Wall of China Marathon, taking place on 21st May 2016.

The Great Wall Marathon is widely considered to be one of the world’s most challenging marathons, but Guy is motivated and excited about the challenge. When we last spoke to him, Guy had never run a marathon before – something that changed in October when he completed the Beachy Head marathon, which is known as one of the toughest marathons in the UK.

In order to prepare for the arduous task ahead, Guy has been doing training runs and fitness sessions with his running club, Run Wednesdays, weekly spin classes and circuit training to help maintain his fitness. His current training has him averaging 15-20 miles a week but this will increase nearer the time. Guy commented: “Beachy Head was hard: the last 6 miles over the Seven Sisters were such a challenge. However, compared to the Great Wall of China, Beachy Head Marathon is more like a small training run.”

In March, Guy will be entering the Brighton Marathon as part of the training for China too. He says: “For me, a marathon is always going to be tough, I’m not an experienced runner and with a young family and a business to run, getting the training in and the balance right is another challenge”. Despite feeling fit and healthy and having great support through his running club, Guy commented: “It will be 30 degrees in China, and the wall has approximately 20,000 steps and hills which would hurt the very fittest of runners, so it’s certainly going to be memorable.”

Despite the English winter being unable to prepare him for the heat, he is ever the optimist: “I’m really excited about the next six months. Doing the marathon itself will be an amazing opportunity to see the Great Wall of China and fulfill my aspiration to raise money for this fantastic charity.”

Guy’s mission is admirable to say the least, raising money for St. Wilfrid’s Hospice, which offers amazing support to those living with Cancer also having helped throughout his dad’s battle with pancreatic cancer. In order to take his place in this marathon Guy needs to secure sponsorship for his expenses, to cover the costs of this mammoth fund raising challenge: £1500. Once he books his place, he will then seek to secure further donations for the hospice. Guy is keen to establish a working partnership with any business who would like to offer their support. Guy is very committed to promoting and raising the profile of this event both for his sponsor and the hospice: “The incredible service provided by St Wilfrid’s hospice is only possible through fundraising and charitable donations, and I implore people to support me on this amazing fundraising adventure so we can support a charity that serves those who need it most in our community.