Paul Jones, a teacher at Great Whelnetham CEVC Primary School in Suffolk, successfully and against the odds, ran the London marathon in April this year, raising £744.20 (+Gift Aid) for the Ngeteti Primary School in Kenya - one of our 9 Kariandusi School Trust schools.

A marathon takes an amazing amount of commitment whenever it is undertaken. Paul managed to put in the necessary long, hard hours of practice through one of the longest, hardest, coldest winters we have seen for years. That, in itself deserves a medal!

Paul managed the Bungay half marathon in February in under 2 hours, but soon afterwards his knee began to give him problems with Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Lesser men would have considered giving up, but not Paul. With the assistance of physiotherapy and a knee support, this determined individual kept going, and even maintained his excitement. "It's me against 26.2 miles" he joked ruefully!

We all kept our fingers crossed for Paul on the big day. This was going to be a real challenge for him. We could just wait and hope...

A short message came through. "Finished the London Marathon in 5 1/2 hours, it was one of the greatest and most painful day of my life. The 6 months of running through rain, ice, snow and sub zero tempertures finally paid off!".

Kariandusi School Trust is run by volunteers, all of whom want to make a difference. We are all deeply moved by everybody who is willing to support the children in our schools, but when someone like Paul goes through so much to raise money for the children at school in Kenya, we are truly humbled.

Here is his full report, written once he had got his breath back and his body had recovered.

"The London Marathon journey was truly an amazing experience, full of highs and lows! From the point I received the ballot place to the moment I crossed the finish line was amazing. It took me 4 years to get through the ballot - I only wish it hadn't been the coldest winter for many years. I never thought I would be getting up before 6am to run before daybreak in the snow and sub zero temperatures.

Training went really well despite the harsh weather. I even completed the Bungay 20k run in February in 1hour 53 minutes. Then the week following Bungay my knee gave in, and I was forced to rest and then to shorten my training run distances. I struggled through the last few weeks of training and had to decide if I was going to defer my place until next year. I had managed to run around 10 miles without too much discomfort a couple of weeks before the big day, so I decided to go for it.

The Marathon started really well - there was a little rain before the start which helped to cool things down and I started off at 10am. Unfortunately Sue, who I'd trained with through the winter, had been placed on a different start point so I had to try and link up with her at around 5 miles. I managed to locate her amongst the thousands of runners, so I then had my training partner which was a great help. I felt really good and was running a 4 1/2 hour pace, the crowds where fantastic and I even managed to find my family who where supporting me. One of the highlights was crossing Tower Bridge which is around half way.

Unfortunately at around 17 miles my knee problem returned so my pace slowed drastically, and the rest of the run was a painful run and hobble. I am not sure I could have finished without the support of my family and Sue who dragged me over the line. I finished in around 5 1/2 hours and I'm now the proud owner of the finishers T-shirt and medal.

But after all was only a few hours of running and have managed to raise £744.20. After watching the video (of the Ngeteti schoolboy) you sent me today makes it all the more worth while!

It was a privilege to run for Kariandusi School Trust."

Paul, it was a privilege for Ngeteti to have such a generous and determined supporter. Thank you!