Members rally for Trust at London Marathon

Former professional players Paul Dixey, Lewis Hatchett, James Kettleborough and Chris Peploe completed the London Marathon on Sunday to raise crucial funds for the Professional Cricketers’ Trust.

Formerly known as the PCA Benevolent Fund, the Trust’s purpose is to support the lifelong health and wellbeing of all PCA members and their immediate families.

The leading cricketing charity provides support both reactively and proactively with a passion to help educate PCA members on all issues to refute problems in the future.

All four members have raised almost £7,000 between them and they gave their verdict on the gruelling 26.2 miles and are still aiming to receive further donations for the Trust…

“The support was immense! From start to finish the roads were lined with people and it was a great event to be a part of. Taking enough paracetamol to sedate an adult elephant definitely helped and I’m delighted to have run in aid of the Professional Cricketers’ Trust. I’m sure the money raised by the four of us will make a real difference in helping current and retired cricketers.

“My mind would love to do this again, but my body is suggesting a comprehensive NO. I’m really happy with my time and I thought it was all going well until I turned a corner at 25km to see a man dressed as a HUGE Big Ben 100 yards ahead of me and looking far too strong! At 38 km seeing people three times my age overtaking me was also not ideal, but I’m very happy with how it all went and thank everyone at the Trust for their support during an immense day.”

“I’m really happy I’ve done it. I’m looking forward to seeing how I pull up over the next few days. I’ll jump in the sea, do some yoga and breathing then back to my normal training regime on Tuesday hopefully.

“I know everyone talks about the crowd, but it really is awesome. To see my friends and my brother cheering at a couple of spots was really special. It was a lot harder than I imagined and I think two and a half months of training wasn’t enough to get the time I wanted. At mile 20 I hit the wall hard, I was on for sub four hours, but my legs told me they didn’t want to do it anymore. I think by smiling through I distracted myself away from the pain.

“I think I’m going to rest from doing a marathon for now….. But I am looking at doing some more challenges to raise further funds!”

“It was so tough, but weirdly enjoyable. Given the lack of preparation it was really quite brutal on the body, but I’m glad to have finished and happy enough with my team.

“At times I had to convince myself I could get through it, one foot in front of the other and trying not to get too far ahead. The support was incredible, it does really give you a boost when it goes tough. The last 10 miles dragged, my little preparation meant I hadn’t covered that distance so wasn’t sure how my body would hold up, but I’m just really happy I got to raise money for such a great cause. That’s what it’s all about and hopefully it can make a difference.”

“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to raise money and awareness of the Trust and in some way help out my cricket family.

“Crossing that line was unbelievable, I felt so thrilled and proud that I had completed it and knew I hadn’t let anyone down. I think tapping into the fear of what humiliation would beckon if I didn’t finish helped and although no records were broken, my body was! A tough, but amazing experience that I can now tick off my bucket list.

“Whether I would do it again is a different story, mile 18 to the end was the worst, but I said never again after my first marathon 10 years ago!”

For more information on the Professional Cricketers’ Trust click here.

Want to fundraise for the Trust? Challenge yourself to complete the famous Three Peaks Challenge in October to raise valuable funds for the Trust and Tom Maynard Trust, for more information click here.