A mother from Colwick will take on her fourth half-marathon of the year later this month as she looks to raise funds for new facilities at her son’s school.
Gemma Bardwell is planning to run 12 marathons during 2018 in a bid to raise £10,000 which will fund a new art and music room for St John the Baptist School in the village.
The ‘marathon mum’ has so far completed three half marathons in 2018 in Whitby, Leicester and London.
Her efforts have so far raised £1,800 for the cause.
Gemma told Gedling Eye: “The support I have received has been overwhelming and people have continued to give me words of encouragment and make donations to my JustGiving page.
“I’ve found it hard to balance training as well as looking after my children, going to work and fundraising, but it’s all been worth it so far.
“So far we have managed to raise approx £1,800. This includes offline fundraising, a generous corporate sponsorship from painting contractor Slack and Rose and a £200 contribution from our local councillor Meredith Lawrence who is also supporting our fundraising efforts.”
The donation from Gedling Borough Council’s Colwick ward councillor, Meredith Lawrence has come from his councillor community fund, although he also plans to make a personal donation online.
Cllr Lawrence was full of praise for Gemma’s efforts.
He said: “I am really impressed at Gemma’s commitment and happy to help.”
Gemma will be now running her next marathon later this month – although this time, she won’t be running alone. She’ll now be joined by her husband as they plan to mark their seventh wedding anniversary by running the Longhorn Half-Marathon together.
Mrs Bardwell said she was glad she could do something to help out a ‘fantastic school’, which provides a fantastic education for her young son.
She said: “It’s a fantastic school and the staff go above and beyond in terms of helping children achieve their potential.
“I couldn’t wish for a better school for my son. By raising this money not only will it further enhance the school but it will benefit our children even more.
“The Headteacher Chris Belton and I have various other plans to try and raise money throughout the year but we are mainly relying on the generousity of the community to help us reach our target. We still have a long way to go though and I am determined to get as close to the target as possible.”
