Nicky runs 9 marathons in 9 months for the school in Oromia
Thanks, gratitude and respect to our chief fundraiser, Nicky Lopez who has raised over £30,000 for WDEF through his fund raising activities. On a truly miserable November day (for spectators and runners) in Battersea Park, Nicky completed the challenge he set himself at the beginning of the year.
He began in March with a marathon on a treadmill at KXU gym where he works in Kensington, then the London Marathon in April, Exeter in May and 105 laps of an athletics running track at Ware in Hertfordshire. Though he wasn’t competing, he came second!
Then came probably the biggest challenge of all, the Snowden Trail marathon, with 1,600 metres of elevation over the course of 42 kms distance! Rich Owen, who also raised funds for WDEF shared the pain. After that, a trot around the lakes of Upsala with his friend, Andy, was a warm down!
The Ouse Trail Marathon lived up to its name, with torrential rain and muddy riverside paths, but Lisbon, where Nicky was supported by fair-weather family and friends, compensated somewhat.
To break the monotony (and to raise more funds for WDEF) Nicky, Rich and Robyn won the Team Triathlon at Dorney Lake, and Nicky completed the London Classics by adding RideLondon (100 miles cycle) and SwimSerpentine (2 miles open water) to his London Marathon Run.
An amazing achievement!
What’s next?
In 2025 Nicky is preparing a group of 5 runners for the London Landmarks Half-marathon, 1 runner for the London Marathon, and 3 swimmers for SwimSerpentine, all of whom have committed to raising funds for our school.
