Hospital doctor to run London Marathon

Paul Beckett uses his medical knowledge to interpret lab results into diagnoses, every day. He is also leading on developing the lab, and service, with new equipment but thought he’d take on the marathon as an even bigger challenge.

In April 2023, he decided to enter for the London Marathon Ballot, the first marathon he will run. Every year, between 17,000 and 20,000 spots are allocated by ballot, with a record 578,374 people entering for this year’s marathon. On Thursday, 6 July 2023 while on family holiday in Australia, Paul received his email to congratulate him on being allocated a spot.

Paul said: “I never expected to get a place in the ballot so when I found out I had managed to get one, I knew I needed to do something good with it and decided to raise some money for charity. Alzheimer’s Research UK is the one that resonated with me the most, so I set up my JustGiving page.

“My dad died of Dementia a few years ago so I’m doing this for him. It’s been really warming to read the messages where people have experienced a similar thing to me and my family. I’d also like to thank everyone for being so generous, they don’t have to donate so it is really appreciated.”

Paul has been training at every given opportunity; during his lunch break, on his weekends, he’s even becoming known to take out of hours calls during his runs. His colleagues have supported his venture through donations and words of encouragement. Paul’s wife and daughter will be supporting him from the sidelines in London, on Sunday, 21 April, with all his colleagues watching on TV and supporting from home.

Michael Collins, Technical Specialist Lab Manager for the Trust, said: “I couldn’t think of anyone better suited to do this. Paul has been a keen runner the entire time I’ve known him, and the cause makes it even more suited. We’ve been trying to convince him to wear a silly hat so we can spot him, but I’m not sure how likely that is!”

Paul has been using a JustGiving page to raise funds as well as using it to provide updates every time he goes for a walk or run. His original fundraising target was £500 but, so far, he has more than doubled that with donations. He is now on route to raise as much as he can.

You can track Paul’s progress and donate to his JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/paul-beckett-1705950335268?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fpaul-beckett-1705950335268&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share