Our very own Judith Coole, Managing Consultant, takes on the London Marathon in aid of our charity partner, Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Throughout our fundraising journey, colleagues have been pushing themselves physically with Walk your socks off and The Conqueror challenge to achieve our donation target for the year of £30,000 for Guide Dogs.

Most recently, Judith Coole completed the London Marathon on Sunday 3^rd October in under 5 hours, clocking in at 4h 53m 38 seconds.

Judith started training at the beginning of the year, and covered the marathon distance with some friends in Bournemouth in March. She started training again in June, but hip problems meant her longest training run was only 18 miles (dropping the 19 and 20 miles), as rest was advised to prevent further problems.

On the day, Judith got started off in Wave 10 from Blackheath, which set off at 10:14. At several points Judith was overcome with emotion because of the huge crowds and support, particularly at the Cutty Sark, the iconic Tower Bridge, and when she spotted her husband and children in Canary Wharf.

A key highlight was at the end, where she got to meet puppies in training at the Guide Dogs supporters’ event.

As part of her fundraising, Judith also held a Guess my Time Competition, which raised £155, bringing her overall total to £2,572.22 (£3,136.53 with Gift Aid).

“The whole marathon weekend was an experience I will never forget. The crowds were amazing and it was great to see so many people running for good causes, including quite a few who I saw were running for Guide Dogs. The charity put on a reception afterwards for runners and their friends and families, and I must admit it made me quite emotional going there and meeting some of the puppies in training as it really brought home why all the hours of training had been worth it”

Judith Coole, Managing Consultant at Gobeyond Partners

Gobeyond Partners are proud to have such a dedicated and headstrong team who have raised a total of £33,609.57 for Guide Dogs, surpassing the original goal of £30K. We also still have a small number of ongoing activities that should boost this even further.

To learn more about how our donation makes a difference, read Kasmi’s story.