2018

We would like to send congratulations and a huge thank you to our fantastic fundraisers so far in 2018

Children at Harting School chose to support two charities this year - The Gauchers Association and Pets As Therapy. One of the past pupils had Gaucher disease hence the suggestion, which came from the children.  Their first fundraising idea was to wear odd socks which has raised £94. They have some other events 'up their sleeves' and are keen to run a sponsored silence next term - clearly something the teachers would enjoy too!

Congratulations and thank you to Glen Moran who  completed the Milton Keynes half marathon in March in memory of his daughter Emily. Glen has raised over £845 for the Association and neuronopathic research.

2018 London Marathon

Four runners raise over £7,800 for the Gauchers Association  
Congratulations to our runners who completed the record breaking 38th Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April. With temperatures reaching 24°, it was officially the hottest race day on record. A huge thank you to Paul Gillard, Chris Frost, Lucy Fairall and Matt Furniss who were amongst the 40,273 runners who all crossed the finish line. This event is one of our biggest fundraising events and forms a significant part of the income we need to continue to support the Association's activities and initiatives. Please read how are fantastic runners describe their experiences of the day:

Lucy says 'Running a marathon was as far from my goals as you could get when I started running 4 years ago, especially when I ran my first half marathon in Bristol in 2014 and thought there was no way I would ever be able to run the same distance again straight after. But it is funny how things turn out, when I was a child I remember watching the kids running the mini marathon and thinking it would be good fun and then last year I was watching the Heads Together program on the BBC and seeing how truly inspirational they all were that I started to think, maybe... and so after a little encouragement from family, friends and fellow runners I decided to enter, what is the worst that could happen. Jump forward a year and I can now say I am a marathon runner! It is one of the most exhausting, exhilarating and fantastic things I have ever done and an experience that I will never forget. It was a very hot day, but the crowds and supporters were brilliant, there wasn't a space on the route empty, the London Marathon is truly an awesome event. 

I am extremely grateful to Dursley Running Club and to the Gauchers Association for giving me this opportunity and I am honoured to be able to help this worthy cause'.

Matt writes 'Running in the London Marathon has always been on my bucket list and this year that dream came true !! Training had gone pretty well during the winter months apart from the usual niggles when running long distances. Then the week leading up to and during the weekend, nature decided to play cruel trick on all the us London Marathon runners who hadn't trained in more than ten degrees by bringing us temperatures of mid twenties, thanks for that! 

Therefore after days of deliberation and outfit and fuelling dilemmas I was at the start line, in blue pen 7 waiting to begin my biggest ever physical challenge. It was hot, it was humid and the thousands of runners and spectators made it feel even hotter. The race itself was everything I expected it to be, exciting, inspiring, long and painful! It is a weird sensation hearing random people cheering on your name and encouraging you to keep on going, it truly does motivate you. I was on target for probably a 4hr 30ish finish despite struggling in the heat, but at around mile 14-15 I met a fellow Gaucher runner who was struggling with his knee. I made the decision to stay with Paul and help him around the rest of the course so he could achieve his goals of finishing the London Marathon and also raising money and awareness of the Gauchers Association. Its what the spirit of the London Marathon is about and we kept each other motivated and entertained to that finish line. I never thought I would ever be involved never mind finish the greatest marathon on the planet as well as raising awareness and £1,750 for the Gauchers Association. If I can do it anyone can do it!'

David Lew celebrated his 70th birthday on 15 April 2018 and asked that guests make donations to the Gauchers Association instead of bringing gifts. Happy birthday and many thanks!