Student Prepares “Just Four Weeks” For Marathon To Raise Money For Charity.
Credit: Ben Godleman
Ben Godleman, a second year industrial economics student at the University of Nottingham, runs the Business and Entrepreneurship Society, is a part of the Economics Society and is also a member of the university’s golf team. And if his schedule wasn’t already busy enough, he has decided to cycle from Manchester to Paris and run a marathon in the coming months!
Is he mad? Ben suggests not, “I was in the gym one evening and I got a message from the WWF fundraising manager, and she said, ‘Ben do you want to run a marathon for charity, you can use it as fundraising event for your bike ride to Paris?’ I immediately said, yes.”
But before Ben agreed to the 26.2-mile challenge, he had already agreed to cycle from Manchester to Paris, to raise awareness for the charity WWF.
The cycle from Manchester to Paris will span more than five days.
WWF has been tackling global environmental issues and ensuring that nature and people thrive for more than 60 years.
“This is what is keeping me going, why I started it (the cycle)”, says Ben.
He adds: “The fact that there could be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050 and the fact that we destroy an area of forest the size of a football pitch every two seconds – if you put that into perspective, I might actually have the opportunity to be a part of the reason as to why that might not happen.”
It’s clear that the purpose of the marathon and the cycle is not just to test Ben’s athletic limits but to be a part of making the world a better place.
Using the state of our planet as fuel and one article online on ‘planning a 30-day running programme’, Ben began to prepare.
He explains: “It’s been super intense. Its involved injuries, blood, sweat and tears. To prepare I read one article on how to prepare for a marathon in four weeks. I haven’t watched any YouTube videos or read any books.”
He adds: “I am big believer in that you can consume a lot of information and not take enough action. I just decided on that day (once he agreed) to hop on the treadmill and start running.”
Once Ben was getting through his 30-day training routine, he admits that the experience has taken a physical and mental toll on him.
He says: “Physically it has been arguably one of the toughest things I have ever done – you have shin splints, times when you cannot even walk… the other day I got in from a 18 and half mile run and I literally collapsed. I wanted to stand but I my legs couldn’t support my body so I had to crawl into my room. That was a real tough experience.”
However, Ben also tells me how since he picked up running, mentally he has felt at his best.
“When you are out there and you are running for 3, 3 and half hours, it takes you to place you haven’t been before.
“It takes you to a tranquillity. You are left with just yourself, your footsteps, and your surroundings.”
Ben continues: “you can use it as an opportunity to meditate. To understand what is going on with your life and that is what has been really interesting.”
But with anything there is ups and downs and Ben confesses that along the way there are days when he feels “tired” and wants to “go home”. Despite this, Ben remembers the reason why he is doing this and the massive support he has behind him.
“I learnt that it is very easy to quit when it’s hard”, says Ben.
“I have hopped on the treadmill and said I will do five miles and end up doing three. I’ll get off and say ‘ah my legs are aching, and I am tired, and I just want to go home and get cosy’ and in that moment is when you should want to push harder and not quit.
“And it’s when I have gotten off the treadmill, packed my bags where I think, people have donated to this page (his fundraising site), left me nice messages of encouragement and motivation. People are counting on me to do this marathon and finish it – why I’m I going to quit because I won’t be able to quit in the marathon, so that’s when I put my bag back in the locker and do the rest of the miles I said I was going to do.”
Ben believes that to see the light at the end of the tunnel, “you have to go through the struggle to reap the rewards.”
Aside from lacing up his running his shoes, riding his bike, and going to the gym. Ben has used the social media platform, TikTok, to document the whole journey.
He says: “TikTok has been a good platform for me to keep (track of) my routine. Before marathon training, I wasn’t doing anything really… my routine was all over the place.But as soon as the marathon (preparation) started I had to wake up early, take my vitamins, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner – every single day without a doubt and developing that routine has really enabled me to add more tasks to the day”, he adds.
Ben originally downloaded TikTok to help raise more awareness and money but instead it helped him to maintain a structured routine which he uses to keep himself accountable.
He says: “the upside is that it (TikTok) has given me a real structure to my life which I feel that after the marathon I will be able to take away and still have.”
Ben Godleman hopes to complete the marathon in under five hours but just participating and raising awareness is something that he is already proud of.
He says: “The fact that I can do it in four weeks shows that if you really put your mind to something and you train and you have a plan and you follow that plan religiously, you can achieve something.”
“Hopefully by the end of this (marathon and cycle) I will have a new outlook on life.” Ben says smiling.
If you want to support Ben and donate to WWF, click here.
