The Pall-Ex Group London Marathon team has already successfully raised over £17,000 to go towards supporting SSAFA, with four months still to go. The money raised will go towards providing crucial welfare, health and support services to military personnel, veterans and their families. All runners are now at least at the halfway point of their fundraising target, with many already surpassing it.
We spoke to the runners to find out how they’ve been getting on with their training plans and fundraising efforts in the run up to the 2025 TCS London Marathon.
Barry Byers, UK Managing Director –
Thank you to everyone who has donated to me so far, it’s great to have already reached my fundraising target!
My training has taken a bit of a setback recently, as I’ve had a heavy cold so I postponed running training for a couple of weeks, which interrupted my momentum. I have restarted but I’m behind schedule so I need to get back on it quickly!
To get back into the swing of things, I went for a run during Storm Bert which was horrible, particularly when I turned the corner and found myself running straight into the wind. I’m continuing with a couple of shorter mid-week runs before moving up to 10k which is my first significant milestone.
The benefit of running in the dark is that there are less witnesses to see me puffing and wheezing at this stage. It isn’t very pleasant getting out and running in the mornings but once you get going it’s fine and makes you feel better for the day ahead.
With Christmas coming up, I intend to increase my training significantly during the break as I’ll have a lot more time, and it’s important I increase fitness levels over Christmas! My goal is to have completed a 20k run by 1st January.
Overall, I feel great about the marathon. It’s for a great cause and as a team we have already raised a fantastic amount of money. My fitness is building, I’m getting healthier and the camaraderie in the team is really positive. The full distance is daunting, but it’s only a few hours of my life so I’ll have to suck it up and get it done.
Paul Robins, Group Finance Director -
Thanks to donations from my friends, family and colleagues, I’ve managed to raise 85% of my fundraising target already!
I’m starting to show some positive improvements in both my time and distance thanks to my training and I’ve managed to stick to my long runs at the weekend, which is an achievement considering the weather. At the end of November, I completed my first 10k, where I found myself running past Warwick castle, which was a great feeling with the sun out, a crisp in the air and me panting like a steam train! It wasn’t necessarily a highlight for me, but I recently encountered my first injury, which resulted in a lot of humour at head office…
I’ve now built up to four runs per week, with three runs during the week and a long run at the weekend. With the long runs, I’ve been running in light rain and it’s a nice feeling to get out in the chilly mornings. It’s not too bad running in the cold or dark however the rainy days are not too pleasant, but it’s best to be prepared.
I’ve got the week off over Christmas so I plan to carry on with my training during this time, making the most of the gym and continuing with the early morning runs. I’m a bit of an early bird so I’ll be aiming to get out before 9am to enjoy the rest of the day. Avoiding the odd tipple will be a challenge but a few drinks in moderation shouldn’t cause too much of an issue.
I, amongst the other Pall-Ex runners, have a few events planned in the run-up to the marathon, including a training day with SSAFA in January and a 10k session in London in early February. At present, I’ve just been focused on increasing my training and distance so the nerves probably won’t kick in until the end of February.
Michelle Naylor, Commercial Director -
I’m really proud to have already hit my fundraising target, thanks to my family, friends and colleagues donating and with more than four months still to go, I’m looking forward to seeing how much more I can raise.
My training so far is going well, I have just completed the final week of Couch to 5K and I’ve got my first Parkrun coming up alongside Paul Robins, my fellow marathon runner. It definitely feels like I’m making good progress with my training. I’m still completing three runs per week, two after work, which is a challenge, and one over the weekend.
As it’s been getting darker and colder outside, it’s definitely harder to motivate yourself to go out but the sense of achievement after is just fantastic and makes it all worth it. With Christmas coming up, I’m very focused on increasing my mileage and I’m determined not to lose it over the festive period – I might even ask the kids to run with me! With the marathon fast approaching, I am excited and wary at the same time.
I have booked onto the SSAFA training day in January to meet all the other runners and get some tips and advice for the big day, which will include nutrition, preventing injury and helping me with everything I need to know!
Stuart White, Head of Hub Operations -
My training is going well so far, I’ve started to increase the distance of my runs up to 15km. I have also raised almost 60% of my fundraising target which is great! I now do two runs a week plus play football three times a week to help my fitness, so it feels like I am in pretty good shape currently.
Over Christmas, I will probably have a break for a week and then go back to my normal schedule, I don’t want to lose too much progression. In general, I’m feeling positive in the run up to the marathon. I am a little nervous as I’ve never run that far before but I’m confident that with all the training and energy I’m putting into my training, I’ll be fine.
John Bisland, Hub Manager -
So far, I have raised a huge £3158 thanks to a number of fundraising initiatives I’ve held both inside and out of work. I’ve recently been doing the ‘High Five Challenge’, where I’ve been running five miles, five days a week for five weeks on a treadmill in reception at the Pall-Ex Central Hub, sponsored by my colleagues.
Alongside this, a few weeks ago I held a ‘Tombola for Troops’ at Nene Park and Holcot Car Boot, raising £332 to go towards my fundraising target. With over four months left to go, I’ve got plenty more plans in the pipeline to continue raising as much as I can for SSAFA.
As far as my running goes, I have been taking part in as many running events as I possibly can in preparation for the marathon, with the latest taking me to the Loughborough Santa Run where I got a new PB! I’m feeling really positive overall and really looking forward to the day. I’m really passionate about raising money for SSAFA and keeping up with my training so I’m looking forward to seeing my hard work pay off on the day of the marathon.
Frank Gee, Managing Director at Millbray Group -
My training is going well, body is fully recovered from my recent Ironman so I am now running a maintenance plan in preparation for my first full week of London Marathon prep which will begin the last week of December.
I recently completed an Ironman, finishing 351st out of 1878 participants, with another one booked for the week after the London Marathon. It was definitely a learning experience and it all helps towards my fitness. I’m very excited for the marathon, it will be a fantastic day, especially when I get to the finish!
I’ve almost reached my fundraising target for SSAFA, currently sitting at £2445, with fantastic donations from Millbray Group and the Pall-Ex Charitable Foundation all helping towards my goal.
Tim Clements, Managing Director at Team C Express Logistics -
I recently completed the Chicago Marathon which was great, the crowd and atmosphere was just amazing. I finished it in 3 hours and 46 minutes.
I’ve since taken some time off from running to try and let my Achillies Tendonitis settle down a bit after finishing the Chicago Marathon training plan. Whilst I’m taking a break from running, I have just been doing some indoor bike work to ensure that I don’t lose too much fitness.
I’m aiming to start running again next week and will be hoping to resume a training plan all throughout December. Having done a few marathons now, I know not to get too down when you get an injury and also not to get too ahead of yourself when training is going well.
Thanks to donations from the Pall-Ex Group Charitable Foundation and Team C Express Logistics, I have almost hit my fundraising target of £2500.
To donate to the Pall-Ex Group team, please visit: https://www.pallex.co.uk/london-marathon
Find out more about SSAFA and the services they provide here