On Sunday,all being well, a London Marathon runner will not only be celebrating crossing the finishing line after running 26.2 miles through the capital, he will also be toasting his tenth marathon for charity Camp Simcha.
Jonny Phillips, 51, from Edgware, ran his first London Marathon for Camp Simcha back in 2010. Since then, he has raised £36,745 for the charity’s work supporting Jewish families with seriously ill children. This year, to mark his tenth run, he has set a fundraising target of £10,000.
Jonny, who is a member of Netzach Yisroel Synagogue and heads a training company providing employability skills, said while he has run many international marathons, for him, London was the best.
“The atmosphere beats them all, and to see the Camp Simcha team along the route gives that extra buzz. When I ran my first marathon, I chose Camp Simcha because I love the work they do, and I know many families that have been positively impacted by the charity’s work.”
The father of three daughters, a son and a son-in-law added that “what makes their work particularly special is that they support seriously ill children and their families across the entire community. This sets a perfect example for what we need across the Jewish world in these challenging times, one big family treating each other with respect and love. I really feel privileged to work with them and run in support of such an inspiring and compassionate team.”
Jonny said that Sunday’s marathon would be just one of the challenges he would be undertaking this year as he was training towards an ultra-marathon in South Africa.
However, he said that London would always be his favourite long-distance race. “It really is a carnival atmosphere. I particularly love the dressing up, which London runners seem to embrace more than any others. There’s something pretty humbling about seeing a rhino pass you en route!”
Energy drinks help him get through the race. “I generally have two during the race and one on every longer training run in the build-up. So that is probably 22 bottles for each marathon – 220 for all the London marathons I have run. That’s 110 litres! I’m starting to feel a little nauseous already when I think of it like that.”
Click here to sponsor Jonny or go to: charityextra.com/hub/campsimcha/221223
