This year, Ed Stevens will be running the London Marathon on behalf of The Good Gym, you can support him here.  This is his second consecutive London Marathon.  Ed has been training for the Marathon in Ethiopia where he works for Save the Children.   I asked him to say a few words about why he’s running for The Good Gym :

Ed: “Because its so directly related to  running,  more than any other i can think of… its new and innovative and I feel I was part of its early formation… I definitely think its something that will pick up momentum very fast and grow in popularity- and has a very promising future.”

Ivo: How have you been training for the Marathon?

E: “Well, i have been training for a half marathon in Ethiopia at 2500m altitude, but modify my training when my marathon place was confirmed at late notice, so I know I’m fit but haven’t trained consistently and I’m trying to keep calm before the event.  You can only run in the early mornings in Adis Ababa, its difficult to find a place where you can run on flat asphalt… you can only run in the mornings because of the pollution.”

I:What sort of time are you hoping for?

E: “I’m hoping to improve on last year, my first marathon, three hours 3.35,  considering the flight bans and possible absence of world champion athletes, I’m hoping to have a chance of a medal. Which would be an improvement of 7 thousand places!”

I:You ran for a charity last year, but the Good Gym is a Social Enterprise…

E:  “One’s not more or less worthwhile.. I don’t care how its packaged.. all stakeholders are benefiting, fitness and running is a a major part of it and its directly connected to long distance running… with a social element. The marathon is a long distance and you train intensively. The types of people who are running could give a much greater social dimension to their fitness.  This won’t appeal to everyone but we know enough from the Good Gym’s success that a lot of people are interested.”

I: What can people do to support you?

E: “Cheer me on please! look up the Good Gym and please just tell people about the project, spread the word, bring it up in conversations and particularly mention it to people who live in Tower Hamlets.”

Please sign the pledge to raise awareness of the project in Tower Hamlets and support Ed.

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