By Mencap
Having run four marathons in the past, Pandora had said “never again” to lacing up her running shoes to take on the 26.2 mile challenge.
But that changed after she learned about the work Mencap does for people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
. She went on to raise more than £3400 at the TCS London Marathon 2023.
“I had no idea at the scale of
discrimination
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently (usually in a bad way) because of things like their disability or their
religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
.
that people with a learning disability faced and feel really good about contributing towards ending it," Pandora said after completing the race in a brilliant 3 hours and 52 minutes.
Running for Mencap was amazing – the encouraging emails, the cards, the running vest – all lovely personal touches. I loved being part of Team Mencap. I met some great people and got some really loud cheers along the way.
"I thought it would be hard doing the fundraising, but I got loads of support and ideas from Mencap. The events team really knows what works and people are really generous.
“The team at Mencap are lovely and I nearly burst into tears when Lorainne rang me to say thank you.
“It’s great knowing that the money is going to such a good cause, and so many people who sponsored me said they gave more because they think it’s so great.
"It’s so much fun - I’m going to do it again next year and raise double the amount!”
If you’ve been inspired to follow in Pandora’s footsteps to support the 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK, beat the ballot and request a place to run with Team Mencap today.