This week, Jeremy Joseph runs his fifth London Marathon. Mildly psychotic or just dedicated to raising awareness and vital funds for HIV charities? You decide…
1st Marathon – 2010
The first year’s highlight was finishing. It was completely the fear of the unknown. It was doing it and not knowing what the hell I was letting myself in for and whether I could achieve it or not. So out of all the years, finishing the first one was the scariest.
2nd Marathon – 2011
I think this was about doing it all again, I suppose. My head goes through the same thing every Marathon. You start it and you go, “What the fuck am I doing here, you idiot, I don’t know why I’m putting myself through it again!” Then you’re half way though it and you are thinking that you just want to go home, and then you finish it and think, I can’t do this again! Then there you are again, the next year. But out of everything we do, it raises more money than anything else. It just captures people’s imaginations like no other fundraiser we do. It just gets people sponsoring.
The first year’s highlight was finishing. It was completely the fear of the unknown. It was doing it and not knowing what the hell I was letting myself in for and whether I could achieve it or not. So out of all the years, finishing the first one was the scariest.
3rd Marathon – 2012
This year was the balloon release, because whenever we’ve done fundraising it’s not just about money but awareness. I thought here we are and the streets of London are mobbed and I wanted to get across the number of people who were living with HIV in London. The red balloons represented those who knew they had HIV, and the yellow ones represented those who were HIV+ but didn’t know their status. The message was to know your status and get tested.
4th Marathon – 2013
Just before last year’s Marathon was the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy, which overshadowed the London Marathon and made it a more sombre affair. That sad news was set against the good news that the week before we hit our £200,000 target for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
5th Marathon – 2014
We’ve raised £50,000 in the last year alone, but I can’t take the credit for it, because it’s all the people that have donated, the team at G-A-Y and all the people that get behind it that make it. Unless you have people that get behind you on it, you don’t achieve anything. I can take the credit for running the actual marathon (if I finish it, that is!) but the success of the fundraising is everyone’s. Having said that I don’t think you realise how frightening running the marathon is. All sorts of things can go wrong, like small injuries or worse. I compare it to your last hit single: nobody remembers your last hit, they only remember your flop!
What can you do?
There is just £1,139 to go before the target of £250,000 raised for Elton John AIDS Foundation is hit! So please donate/sponsor at www.justgiving.com/G-A-Y.
This year the important thing is about getting tested, hence the theme ‘Run For Life’. So, head down to G-A-Y Bar on Old Compton Street in Soho on London Marathon Day Sunday 13th April and get tested by 56 Dean Street Sexual Health Clinic. Knowing your status can save your life!
