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Book trade members gear up for fast-approaching 2023 London Marathon
Book trade members are going the extra mile this year to support a number of worthy causes at the 2023 London Marathon on 23rd April.
Bloomsbury head of children’s sales Frances Sleigh is running for The Book Trade Charity (BTBS), which provides housing and grants to people in the book trade. The cause is personal for Sleigh, who has seen the impact of the help BTBS provide.
Having raised £1,385 of her £2,000 target, Sleigh said: “Back in April 2018, Ola Gotkowska, a colleague and friend of mine at Nosy Crow, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. At the time. she was just 32 years old.
"The Book Trade Charity were immediately on hand, and helped her and her partner fundraise for cutting edge treatments not available on the NHS. Ola died just over a year ago, on 4th February 2022.
“She was bright, creative and incredibly witty. She was a great friend, and I and plenty of others miss her a lot. So, on the 23rd of April this year I’ll be running my first ever marathon through the streets of London to raise money for The Book Trade Charity and in memory of Ola.”
CPI customer service manager Daren Booth and Rafa Jimenez, sales operations analyst at Lexmark, will also be running in support of BTBS. Jimenez, who has raised £385 of his £1,500 target so far, also ran last year’s marathon for a different cause.
He commented: “In a world so polarised I think it is important we all have access to different world views and believe books are one of the best sources for that. I feel the work that BTBS does for the book trade is so important, not only because of the support to people in the trade that are in difficulty, but also helping more people with interest in joining the trade to allow more diversity within it.”
Booth has in the past taken part in other "sporty challenges," including the London Marathon and RideLondon- Surrey 100 in 2019, and Ironman Weymouth 70.3 in 2021. A failed Ironman Wales attempt in 2022 had left him wanting a fresh challenge when he came across The Book Trade Charity’s advert for London Marathon places in the IPG Newsletter.
He said: “I have been in the print industry for 25 years and in that time I have seen many colleagues face difficult times, for a multitude of reasons. Having a chance to raise money for a fantastic charity, that supports those in the book trade when they need it most, while getting the chance to run an iconic event such as the London Marathon again was a perfect fit."
Booth, who has raised £230 of his £2,000 target so far, added: “Naturally fundraising is challenging when everyone is feeling the pinch due to the cost-of-living crisis, however it’s at times like these that charities, such as The Book Trade Charity, need it the most.”
Meanwhile, James McConnachie, editor of The Society of Authors quarterly journal The Author is running to raise money for the Epilepsy Society. As for many others, this cause has personal resonance for McConnachie.
Having already exceeded his £2,000 target, raising £2,228 as of 5th April, he told The Bookseller: “My nephew has epilepsy, and recently had brain surgery, so I’m doing it for him. Doing it in the cause of hope.
“This will be my first ever marathon, and at this exhausted point in the training – 40 miles a week – I think it may be my last. So I’m hoping to raise as much money for epilepsy research and care as I can, while I can.
“Epilepsy often seems overlooked, yet it affects so many people’s lives, and often so profoundly.”
The Bookseller is also fielding a team of runners to raise money for The Book Trade Charity for a separate run in Battersea Park this weekend. If you’d like to support, click on the link here. You can also cheer them along on 15th April at 9am in Battersea Park.
