Parkers’ Luke Tuffield and Fairalls’ Mark Barrett have signed up to run their first-ever marathon to raise vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Luke Tuffield, Branch Manager of Parker Building Supplies in Maidstone, and Fairalls’ Taylors Hill Branch Director Mark Barrett will be running the London Marathon next month to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust — a charity that the Independent Builders Merchant Group (IBMG) and its brands have supported in recent years.
The friends from Maidstone describe themselves as “complete running novices” and meet up before 6am twice a week for a training run and also do further weekly training runs individually.
Luke said: “This is a big challenge for both of us. We have never really run before, let alone do a marathon! 26.2 miles/ 40 km is actually quite a distance, particularly when we started out in June running just 5kms.
“We have now gradually worked our way up from there and run 25kms most weekends.”
Mark added: “It is a big commitment, and often difficult to get out of bed on a dark morning to go running, but we both want to do something great for Teenage Cancer Trust and are 100% committed. Helping to raise funds to support young people aged 13-24 diagnosed with cancer is a motivation like no other!”
Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity dedicated to helping children and their families who are confronted with childhood cancer. Every day, seven young people aged 13-24 hear the words, “You have cancer” and they will each need specialised nursing care and support to get them through it.
TCT makes sure young people have someone in their corner right from the start. Their specially trained nurses and youth workers walk with young people from diagnosis through every step of their treatment, and for up to two years afterwards, so they can recover and live life to the full.
Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to meeting this vital need, so please pledge your support to Luke and Mark’s fundraising efforts via their Just Giving page.
