Bishop of Doncaster Sophie Jelley to run the London Marathon for Mencap

She made the decision in 2019 to do the 26.2-mile run, but her plans were delayed several times due to the pandemic.

The 42nd London Marathon will take place on Sunday, October 2, and Sophie has a JustGiving page set up for Mencap, the learning disability charity.

Every penny raised by Sophie will go towards funding Mencap’s life-changing programmes, which aim to tackle stigma and help people with a learning disability lead happy and healthy lives.

She has an older brother called Simeon who has a learning disability and cerebral palsy:

“I’ve seen first-hand what a difference support can make.

"The charity Mencap does a lot of advocacy work, and a particular project that will benefit from the run is something called ‘All Move’, which is an activity for children both with and without disabilities.

"The idea of the project is for children to get used to being just children together, rather than disabilities being some scary unknown from a really early age.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea because I benefitted from it in my family, but many children don’t unless they have a relative with learning disabilities in their own personal circumstances.”

Sophie is being well supported by family, friends and well-wishers, with over £2,000 raised already.

There are some keen runners amongst the female bishops in the Church of England, but it’s believed Sophie could be the first female bishop to run the London Marathon:

“Obviously women have only been consecrated as bishops in recent years, but I’m not aware if there’s been a female bishop running the London Marathon before.

"A few people have asked me if I’m going to be wearing my mitre when I run, but I’ve disappointed them by saying I won’t! I’ve got a personalised running vest instead.

“I’ll be running without a playlist. I like to take in the sounds around me when I’m running. I often take in the woods around Doncaster when I’m running, which are beautiful. I like to hear bird song, and I like the peace of running.”

Sophie won’t have headphones or listen to music on the run, but instead has her own internal playlist of hymns and worship songs to keep her going.

She is also giving thanks for the generosity of the donations received so far, which are making a big step towards her fundraising target of £4,000.

“I’d love people to pray that I don’t get injured, and I’d like to say thank you to the people who have supported me.

"I’ve had some lovely messages of support and financial donations towards the fundraiser. I realise those donations are hard for people at this time, and I really want to note that generosity and give thanks.”

You can donate to Bishop Sophie’s fundraiser and find out more about the work of Mencap by visiting: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bishopsophieisrunning

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