Alicia worked at PDSA for more than three years. During that time, she learned how important our charitable services are for people and pets in need. Now, her desire to support our cause and help struggling owners and their poorly pets will be fuelling her to cross the finish line.
We recently caught up with Alicia to learn more about her reasons for taking part in one of the UK’s most iconic annual events and what she’s most excited about.
Have you ever done a running event before?
Does the bleep test from secondary school count?! The London Marathon will be my first running event – I’m not sure you can start better than that!
Why did you choose to run the London Marathon for PDSA?
While working in PDSA’s social media team, my eyes were opened to the amazing work the charity and its staff and volunteers do to help people and pets across the country.
I saw the questions and comments we received every day online. People shared their difficult situations and how PDSA helped them in their time of need, often when they had nowhere else to turn. I visited Pet Hospitals and charity shops where I met the vet teams, pets and their owners, shop staff, volunteers, and supporters. Seeing the caring nature and love that everyone shares towards helping poorly pets was inspiring.
I knew I wanted to do more to help raise vital funds for the cause and I’m proud to be running for a charity I once worked for.
How has training been?
I’m really happy with my training so far. As a newly-established runner, it can be very intimidating especially since I had no idea where to start. But I’ve been using a coaching app to help me. It sets a plan for how many days a week to run and what mileage I should do to build up slowly and avoid injuries.
What are you most looking forward to about the challenge?
It’s impossible to pick just one thing! Of course, the London Marathon is a big bucket list experience, and it’s one that I’m so grateful to tick off.
I can’t wait for the day itself. After all the hard work and discipline that goes into training, the day is a celebration of that effort. When I was there in 2023 to watch a family member run, the atmosphere was like nothing I’d experienced before, I can’t explain it! Being there that day inspired me to start running, so it’s pretty special that I’ll be taking part just two years later.
But mostly, I’m looking forward to completing the challenge and proving to myself that I can do difficult things. As someone who used to avoid PE lessons and sports days at school, I never thought I would be running marathons!
To support Alicia in her marathon, visit her JustGiving page.
Take a leaf out of Alicia’s book and get fundraising for PDSA
Every year, our vet teams care for more than 430,000 poorly pets across our 49 Pet Hospitals. But it wouldn’t be possible to keep people and pets together without the help of our fantastic fundraisers. Whether you're looking for a new fitness challenge, like Alicia, or fancy hosting your own fundraising event, there are many ways you can raise money for PDSA.
For more inspiration and information, visit fundraising for PDSA