London Marathon to save elephants!
I am running the London Marathon 2019 for The Elephant Nature Park (Save Elephant Foundation).
A marathon is going to be an incredibly hard task, but it's nothing in comparison to the suffering captive elephants endure...
In October 2018 I volunteered for a week at the Elephant Nature Park and saw first hand the incredible work they do. CLICK HERE to read my blog on that week and find out more about ENP!
The truth behind every working elephant is the ‘crush’. When they’re young, they’re taken away from their mum and are tied up so they cannot move. They’re starved and beaten severely with metal hooks/nails for an intense and long period of time. The aim is to break their beautiful spirit to ensure they fear and obey their trainer/mahout. The abuse is so bad that their trunks have to be tied up as they often try to commit suicide by standing on them.
The Elephant Nature Park (Save Elephant Foundation) rescue weak/sick captive elephants and liberate trekking camps by educating villagers and giving them another source of income.
Your donation will help:
- to provide a healthy environment for all animals
- purchase new land so they can expand projects
- maintain & develop physical structures
- support local communities
- manage the day-to-day operations
As they are based in Thailand, they are not registered on any fundraising platforms. Therefore, I will withdraw all donations made here and transfer them directly to Save Elephant Foundation.
UPDATE = I did it!!
I RAN THE LONDON MARATHON!
& more importantly raised £2,771 for Save Elephant Foundation!
These funds will go directly to helping weak / sick captive elephants and liberating trekking camps in Thailand.
The marathon was hard and painful but it was amazing to see so many people cheering on runners they'd never met before, handing out orange segments and sweets, high-fiving and giving pep talks (I needed a few)!
Click here to watch a video I made of my marathon experience (all the highs and lows).
Time was 4:33 which I'm pretty happy with considering my legs gave up on me at around 14 miles. Can't believe I got myself going again. There were certainly a few moments where I thought I couldn’t do it, but the elephants and the crowds got me through. Luckily I found my friend George in the last 2 miles when I needed it most - running over the finish line with him was amazing.
A part of me wants to do another one because I know I could've achieved a much better time if my knees hadn't blown up. However, my knees were and are in a lot of pain so am not sure long distance running is the sport for me.
Either way, it was an amazing experience... one I will never forget.
