We’re absolutely delighted that Andy Wolfe is running the London Marathon for Cord this year. Andy tells us all about himself, his running, and his passion for Cord:
I’m 41 and live in Nottingham with my wife and two children – Rosie (14) and Emily (12). I work for the Church of England as the Deputy Chief Education Officer, which involves overseeing our work with just under 5000 schools across the country.
This is my first marathon, and although I’ve done a couple of half marathons, this is a big step up for me. I’ve only been running properly for a couple of years but have always been into sports.
I’ve really enjoyed the discipline of getting out to run regularly, competing with myself to improve my times, and the chance to run with friends – it seems much easier to run with others than alone. I also find that it’s great for my mental health – particularly since working from home during lockdowns, that regular rhythm of getting out there quite a few times a week makes a massive difference to my wellbeing, and I’d recommend it to everyone. When I run, I like to listen to podcasts – often politics, history or faith-based stuff.
I am so excited when I think about the London Marathon and running with such a mass of people. I’m regularly in London for work so it will be great to run around some of those familiar places that I often pass. I’m really looking forward to that atmosphere and, I’m told, the incredible crowd.
Although I’ve got a sense of what it might be like to run that distance, and think I can probably make it round, it’s obviously the first time I will have done it in a real race. I’m hoping that I can prepare well enough to be able to run in a way that I can keep going, despite all the adrenalin and excitement.
I am so privileged to be running for Cord and feel really inspired about the critical international work it is doing – I’ve been particularly impressed with the work in Myanmar, which is obviously such a key international crisis at the moment. The thought of making some kind of difference to this through running the race is a real joy. It also feels like a great way of bringing my faith to life too.
When I finish the marathon I imagine the first thing I’ll do is collapse! Then I’ll call my family – my wife and daughters are such a massive support and inspiration to me so I’ll be sure to call them straight away – they’re so encouraging in my training!
If you would like to participate in a sponsored challenge event for Cord, do please get in touch – info@cord.org.uk.
