Nik Sandars is hoping it will be third time lucky when he takes on the 40^th London marathon next month.

Nik is tackling his third London Marathon at the age of 62, again for his chosen charity of choice, Support Dogs.

So far Nik, who lives in the Cotswolds and is due to retire this year, has already raised £4,400 from his past two marathons, and is hoping to net a further £1,900 from his third and final effort.

Nik, who works for a chemical company, did his first marathon in 2012, and has not stopped running since. Back then he ran in aid of the Stroke Association as his wife Sue, had just survived a severe stroke.

 He found out about Support Dogs when Sue was training with the Paralympic archery development squad and met Support Dogs’ client Amanda Davidson, who is also in the team, and was amazed by the help her disability assistance dog Jupiter provided.

 He ran the 2018 marathon for the charity, and after attending a Support Dogs’ reception at the House of Lords was so inspired by the charity’s work that he decided to have a second attempt the following year.

 “I’m hoping to do it this year in under five hours, and although it’s more challenging this year to raise donations, I won’t be daunted or give up, “he says. “Despite the stormy and wet conditions, I ran a half marathon last week and it was my second-fastest ever, so fingers crossed.”

 Support Dogs is a charity that provides and trains dogs to help people with autism, epilepsy and physical disability, enabling them to lead safer, more independent lives.

 “Support Dogs is an amazing organization, and they need to help more people. They rely entirely on public donations to fund their life-changing work through training these incredible dogs,” adds Nik. “I’m very happy to support what they do.”

 Nick’s donation page can be accessed here:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=nik-sandars-SupportDogsLondonMarathon2020&pageUrl=3&fbclid=IwAR0NoEur_WkzdKH2GO_M6lo-_9nDmftgVkhTAFl83jZeglSCPdPAUUcAKJE