Solicitor’s 10 marathons in 10 countries raise thousands for charity

A solicitor has raised nearly £16,000 for two major charities by running 10 marathons in 10 different countries, writes Marianne Gros.

Streatham hill resident Jessica Standley has been completing marathons internationally for the past three-and-a-half years, raising money for disabilities charity WheelPower, and for the South London-based National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC).

Jessica is an associate solicitor in the abuse team at Bolt Burdon and Kemp, and is committed to representing and supporting survivors of abuse in both her professional and personal life .

She began her marathon training after developing a passion for the sport in 2012, and has since run marathons in cities including New York, Berlin, Florence, Paris and Dublin.

Jessica completed her final race in May 2019, running a marathon in Edinburgh, dressed up as Wonder Woman.

The runner has had to overcome a number of injuries throughout this challenge, including a stress fracture in April 2018 that caused a delay in her training.

She used this time away from running to arrange a black tie charity ball which took place in October 2018 and helped her meet her fundraising target.

“It has not always been easy training and completing the 10 marathons! Fitting training in around everything else can be difficult however, knowing I was raising funds for such great causes kept me running”, Jessica said.

NAPAC offers support to those abused in childhood, by running a telephone support line, providing resources for survivors on their website and regularly campaigning and speaking out about issues relating to survivors of abuse.

NAPAC chief executive Gabrielle Shaw said: “This is such an incredible achievement. Jess should be so proud of her training, her endurance and her success in raising thousands for NAPAC as well.

“Generous donations like this from Jess provide vital funds for NAPAC to meet the ever-increasing demand for our support services and continue helping adult survivors of childhood abuse across the UK.”

Half of the funds Jessica raised were for WheelPower, a charity dedicated to providing opportunities for disabled people to find a sport they enjoy and provide opportunities to introduce people to wheelchair support over the year.

“The funds raised will go towards our programme of sporting events for disabled children and recently injured adults in 2020 including the provision of sporting facilities for events and training at Stoke Mandeville Stadium”, said WheelPower employee Jo Hall.

“I am incredibly proud to have completed the challenge and raised more than my original target,” said Jessica.

“Will I keep running? I don’t think I can imagine my life without running now.”