A former Hamelin Chair of Trustees is taking on the Manchester Marathon to raise funds for the charity.
Dassos Alexandrou, who served on the board of trustees from 2018 to 2021, will be navigating the Mancunian streets on Sunday 14th April in his first ever full-length marathon.
He is a keen runner, taking on regular events including his local Park Run, and has run half marathons in the past, but he wanted to take on the ultimate 26.2-mile challenge. Unperturbed by missing out on a ballot place for the London Marathon, the 37-year-old decided to join some friends in the Manchester event instead.
Dassos said Hamelin was a cause ‘very much close to my heart’ and during his tenure as a trustee he was ‘privileged’ to work alongside a ‘fantastic team of people making a meaningful difference.’
He said: “I signed up to the Manchester marathon to achieve a personal goal, but thought it’d also be a perfect opportunity to give something back to a charity which does so much for local people.
“Even though I’m no longer a trustee, I continue to appreciate the fantastic work Hamelin does. You really can see the difference it makes. Knowing that I’m doing this is aid of charity will spur me on even more to succeed, I don’t want to let anyone down, especially the people the charity supports or all the generous people who have donated.”
Dassos has regular training sessions planned, including the Brentwood Half Marathon in March, to ensure he is in good stead for the full marathon distance. He admitted his target of completing the marathon in under four-and-a-half hours may be ‘ambitious’, but as long as he crossed the finish line, he’ll be happy.
He said: “My training is going well and I’ve been doing a mixture of long and short distance runs. I’ve managed to break the 15-mile barrier on a couple of occasions and want to reach the 20-mile mark in training, but on the day I’m sure adrenaline will get me to the finish!”
All donations are gratefully received and will give Dassos an extra boost to complete the grueling event. You can donate via www.justgiving.com/page/dassosalexandrou-hamelintrust-manchestermarathon2024
