21 year-old Benjamin Cowen ran the virtual Virgin Money London Marathon 2020 this year on Sunday 4 October and has raised almost £4000 for Jewish Care. The third-year student who is at Warwick University ran a circular route from his student house in Leamington Spa through Warwick University campus.
Benjamin, who comes from Muswell Hill, says, “I always wanted to run a marathon at some point in my life so I was really pleased to get a place to run for Jewish Care. One of my grandpas, Malcolm Cowen has been involved with the charity and my other grandpa Samuel Saunders, who sadly passed away in 2014, was living with dementia. I wanted to fundraise to help people to benefit from the specialist dementia services that Jewish Care provides for the community.
“Once it was clear that we weren’t going to be running in April, I followed a training programme through lockdown. It really helped to have the advice from Jewish Care in person at the start and then on Zoom as well as the support from my friends who met me along the route with water and gels and took turns to run with me on the day.
“I would totally recommend doing a virtual half or full marathon and would say to people to sign up and don’t even think about the mileage because with all the advice and support that Jewish Care and their runners give, you’ll never really think about how long it is. You’ll be doing it for an amazing cause and you’re going to feel incredible when you’ve done it.”
Jewish Care’s Director of Fundraising & Community Engagement, Adam Overlander-Kaye, said, “I’d like to congratulate and thank Benjamin for his commitment in running the marathon virtually for us this year. Taking part in a fundraising challenge is a very special way to both honour the memory of a loved one and raise much needed funds for Jewish Care. We are hugely appreciative to Benjamin for raising
funds to help us to support our specialist services for people and their families who are living with dementia in the community and in our care homes.”
If you would like to take on a challenge, whether it’s pounding the streets, climbing up mountains or cycling across the city, there are events for people of all ages and fitness levels to help raise money for Jewish Care.
No challenge is too big or small, taking on a 10k, half marathon, marathon or bike rides are a great way to get fitter whilst supporting your favourite charity. Jewish Care will support you all the way to the finish line with a dedicated member of the team to help you with your fundraising and training to get you ready for the challenge.
It’s not too late to sponsor Benjamin by visiting https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BenjaminCowen
