Geoff Thomas Foundation

 

 

Geoff Thomas swapped his bike for a pair of running shoes to continue his fund raising for the Geoff Thomas Foundation in London this weekend.

And the former England football international raised just under £10,000 as he bashed out a creditable time of 4 hours 28 minutes along with his wife Julie.

After his exploits riding the Tour de France routes in 2005 and 2007, Thomas was talked into turning his attention to running the Flora London Marathon, along with 34,000 other hardy souls, on Sunday.

Geoff explained: ''This was my first marathon so I didn't want to fail the first time around''

''Unfortunately, because of old football injuries, the furthest I had run in training was 16 miles. Any more than that and my knees started to hurt too much.

''But Julie ran with me and gave me great support, as well as doing a fantastic time herself, and we had tons of family and friends out on the course, cheering us both on and giving us encouragement.

''That atmosphere really helped us and we kept a pretty good steady pace all the way. We were actually aiming for 4:30, so we ran just about the perfect race''.

Despite a career in professional sports, and his two great cycling adventures, Thomas admits he did not know what to expect from his marathon 'debut'.

He added ''It was 18 miles before I realised what I was actually doing! Then, at around 22/23 miles, that's when it really started to hurt.

''But, as she so often has in recent years, Julie kept me going and I managed to finish - much to my relief! I found it a struggle to walk up the ramp at the end to get rid of the computer chip that records your time and it was definitely a bit of a struggle getting home on the tube.

''But we all had a few beers to celebrate and, most important of all, we are well on our way to raising our target of £10,000.

''Were grateful for all the support and, as ever, we would still love to accept your donations''.

Also running for the Geoff Thomas Foundation Team were Kathy Clucas (5 hours 10 mins) and Melanie Berry, who broke the four hour barrier (3 hours 58 mins).

Geoff added: ''Like all these things, it hurt like mad at the time but were already talking about our next fundraiser and that may well be running the New York Marathon in November''.

You can still sponsor Geoff by visiting:

www.justgiving.com/gtfmarathonteam

Pictures to follow....