Charles Jardine's Marathon training diary - week one: running underwater and going down-under

Charles Jardine, the director and founder of Fishing for Schools is running his fourth (and final!) London Marathon for Fishing for Schools on 23 April – please support him by sponsoring him here.

With just over nine weeks to go to the big day, 67-year-old Charles is stepping up his training, but a long-term knee injury is holding him back.

Here in his first training blog before the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon, Charles takes us through his preparations.

"This will be my fourth Marathon and is definitely my last [you said that last time Charles!] - I hurt too much and have a whole succession of injuries. I can still do 'halfs', 5Ks and 10Ks, but no more full marathons. That's why I'd like everyone who cares about fishing to really get on side. It's a celebration of young people going fishing that everyone can work towards.

"Since I last ran the London Marathon two years ago, I've not stopped training, but I've had to stop running outside for the past four or five weeks as I have a knee injury - cartilage and sinew problems. I've taken lots of opinion from physios, doctors and osteopaths and the consensus is hydrotherapy – running in a swimming pool – and I'm also undergoing acupuncture.

"People don't realise what we have to go through to fundraise through something like a marathon. If every one of my [4,999] Facebook friends gave me just £1 that would be amazing and I'd be well on my way to my £25k target. I've already had some very generous donations and pledges.

"I'm running this one for the sport of angling and its continuance."

At the moment Charles is undertaking three training sessions each day - firstly before work in the hydropool at Salisbury Hospital, then off to a spin class followed by intense yoga at his local gym in the evenings.

But it's all change on 5 March, as Charles is travelling to New Zealand as part of the England squad for the 2020 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championship (March 17 – 22) at the Wairakei Resort Hotel, near Taupo.

"I hope to start running again whilst I'm out there, but how much I do all depends on the elevation and temperature. I think it will really perk my training up – it's no fun running through flooded meadows."

Until next time,

Yours aye, Charles