Second run at London Marathon for Spalding Grammar School PE teacher Chris Crane to raise £2,000 for Asthma UK

A Spalding PE teacher is in training for his second London Marathon to raise money for Asthma UK.

Chris Crane (36), head of Moulton House at Spalding Grammar School, is hoping to improve on his 2017 finishing time of just under five and a half hours when he runs the 26.2-mile course on Sunday, April 28.

One thing that is unchanged for Mr Crane is the charity he will be running for, having raised about £2,500 for Asthma UK two years ago.

Mr Crane said: “The London Marathon was tough two years ago and the mental side of it was something that perhaps I wasn’t ready for.

“Despite this, the race was a fantastic experience and it was really uplifting to hear people shouting out your name when you were at the bottom of your reserves.

“You just get this really big lift and when you reach the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace, it’s just the most amazing feeling because you know that the finish line is near.

“This year, I’m very much looking forward to the challenge and it’s much more of a personal goal for me.”

Mr Crane, who also runs the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards programme at Spalding Grammar School, is no stranger to big city marathons.

For the past seven years, the PE teacher has entered the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough and last year, Mr Crane was one of about 43,000 runners who took part in the 13.1-mile Great North Run from Newcastle to South Shields last September.

He said: “The atmosphere was immense and that’s what drew me back to doing the London Marathon again.

“The buzz you get at both events is just phenomenal and they are both brilliant opportunities to run over courses that are so well-supported and so well set up.”

This year, Mr Crane’s two-fold aim is for a finishing time of less than four hours 15 minutes and to raise at least £2,000 for Asthma UK.

He said: “I’ve been asthmatic for the whole of my life but I still feel that people aren’t aware of the condition and, more importantly, the consequences of not looking after someone with asthma.

“I’m one of the lucky ones in that asthma hasn’t stopped me from running and leading a healthy lifestyle.

“But having heard some of the stories about how people have lost loved ones from an asthma attack when there are treatments available, I just felt that I wanted to give something back for all that Asthma UK does.”

To sponsor Mr Crane, go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com and search under his name.