Look National Federation Of Families With Visually Impaired Children

James Mavor

James Mavor

James Mavor

My Story

I am honoured to be running the London Marathon 2023 on behalf of LOOK UK, a charity which resonates closely with my own experiences.  

LOOK UK is a small but mighty charity that exists to help visually impaired children and young people to thrive! 

My Running Story: 

Born with complete blindness in my left eye, and partial sight in my right, my physical endeavours have generally focused on avoiding bumping into people, attempting to read food menus, and successfully finding my friends in dark pubs. 

I’ve had a very on and off relationship with sport. 

The only sport I’ve ever loved is football and I can recall my headteacher at my then new Leeds Primary School getting the other kids to include me in my first game on the playground – plastic fly-away footballs and Wembley Champs galore. A grazed knee and a bumped head later I’d become a lover of the beautiful game and a devoted, lifelong Leeds United supporter!

Later, I got to make my first and last appearance for my High School football team where I recall my sole yet memorable contribution being a desperately mis-timed slide tackle on the opposing side’s speedy winger. Sadly, I didn’t even catch him hard  enough to send him down! 

Yellow cricket balls, balls with bells in them and oversized tennis balls are my other memories of PE at High School – so just a big load of balls really.  (Kudos to my teachers though for keeping up the attempts to engage and include!).

At University, like most other students, I found another great love, beer.

So, for the next 15 years or so, my sporting career & I lay dormant like a beer filled volcano ready to finally erupt.   

I decided in February 2020 I’d start running which proved good timing considering life as we knew it would be dramatically paused a short time later. Running seemed a good match as the mechanics are effectively stopping yourself from falling over, again, and again, and again – and I’m certainly well versed in falling over. 

The first outing was a freezing cold & windy slog along a slither of the Thames Path. The 45 minutes of being outside that I’d committed myself to felt like an eternal punishment compounded by the painful reality of being able to muster a jog for only 3 minutes before surrendering into a walk. 

I managed the first one though, savouring the warm and fuzzy feeling of arriving home to the warm sanctuary of my Chiswick man-cave. 

So, the next day, I went out again and repeated the pain and pleasure of the previous effort – and then the next day, and so on.  Finally, the walks dissipated and I could manage a continuous 5km which soon became a 10km and by the end of May I’d completed a half marathon. By August, I’d lost 45ibs and was running 45 miles per week at the peak of the Covid apocalypse.

The turnaround was complete in October
2021 when I ran my first marathon: London 2021. 

I’m now looking forward to Marathon Number 3 - London 2023!       

It has been a tough start to the year for a variety of reasons however running, fitness (and of course the oaccasional beer) have been helped me stay strong and stay positive!  

I'd also like to once again give everyone who’s previously sponsored me a HUGE SHOUT OUT - I'm now a top 15% fundraiser with JustGiving UK - THANK YOU! 

Follow LOOK UK now: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/looknational

Twitter: https://twitter.com/look_UK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lookukcharity/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/LookUKTV

"We are LOOK, and we’re on a mission to support young visually impaired people and their families to thrive. We do this through mentoring, transformational events, youth forums and parent support groups

We can also link to other charities and organisations who can help you access the support you need"

Look National Federation Of Families With Visually Impaired Children

Raising for:

Look National Federation Of Families With Visually Impaired Children
20%

Funded

  • Target
    £2,000
  • Raised so far
    £405
  • Number of donors
    13

My Story

I am honoured to be running the London Marathon 2023 on behalf of LOOK UK, a charity which resonates closely with my own experiences.  

LOOK UK is a small but mighty charity that exists to help visually impaired children and young people to thrive! 

My Running Story: 

Born with complete blindness in my left eye, and partial sight in my right, my physical endeavours have generally focused on avoiding bumping into people, attempting to read food menus, and successfully finding my friends in dark pubs. 

I’ve had a very on and off relationship with sport. 

The only sport I’ve ever loved is football and I can recall my headteacher at my then new Leeds Primary School getting the other kids to include me in my first game on the playground – plastic fly-away footballs and Wembley Champs galore. A grazed knee and a bumped head later I’d become a lover of the beautiful game and a devoted, lifelong Leeds United supporter!

Later, I got to make my first and last appearance for my High School football team where I recall my sole yet memorable contribution being a desperately mis-timed slide tackle on the opposing side’s speedy winger. Sadly, I didn’t even catch him hard  enough to send him down! 

Yellow cricket balls, balls with bells in them and oversized tennis balls are my other memories of PE at High School – so just a big load of balls really.  (Kudos to my teachers though for keeping up the attempts to engage and include!).

At University, like most other students, I found another great love, beer.

So, for the next 15 years or so, my sporting career & I lay dormant like a beer filled volcano ready to finally erupt.   

I decided in February 2020 I’d start running which proved good timing considering life as we knew it would be dramatically paused a short time later. Running seemed a good match as the mechanics are effectively stopping yourself from falling over, again, and again, and again – and I’m certainly well versed in falling over. 

The first outing was a freezing cold & windy slog along a slither of the Thames Path. The 45 minutes of being outside that I’d committed myself to felt like an eternal punishment compounded by the painful reality of being able to muster a jog for only 3 minutes before surrendering into a walk. 

I managed the first one though, savouring the warm and fuzzy feeling of arriving home to the warm sanctuary of my Chiswick man-cave. 

So, the next day, I went out again and repeated the pain and pleasure of the previous effort – and then the next day, and so on.  Finally, the walks dissipated and I could manage a continuous 5km which soon became a 10km and by the end of May I’d completed a half marathon. By August, I’d lost 45ibs and was running 45 miles per week at the peak of the Covid apocalypse.

The turnaround was complete in October
2021 when I ran my first marathon: London 2021. 

I’m now looking forward to Marathon Number 3 - London 2023!       

It has been a tough start to the year for a variety of reasons however running, fitness (and of course the oaccasional beer) have been helped me stay strong and stay positive!  

I'd also like to once again give everyone who’s previously sponsored me a HUGE SHOUT OUT - I'm now a top 15% fundraiser with JustGiving UK - THANK YOU! 

Follow LOOK UK now: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/looknational

Twitter: https://twitter.com/look_UK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lookukcharity/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/LookUKTV

"We are LOOK, and we’re on a mission to support young visually impaired people and their families to thrive. We do this through mentoring, transformational events, youth forums and parent support groups

We can also link to other charities and organisations who can help you access the support you need"