CAW FOR THE MACAW - help Noëlle run the world's fastest marathon as a bird!
Noelle Kumpel - optimistic world record marathon attempt as and for the birds
My Story
** POST-MARATHON UPDATE: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! Mission accomplished - see below for updates or here for a full summary of the day, including photos and TV coverage: https://www.facebook.com/share/12CaDe1uMSV/?mibextid=wwXIfr. Keep those donations coming to really smash another target! **
So. Last year while cheering on my friend Javier in the London Marathon, I noticed people running past with ‘official attempt’ pinned to their back and thought, why not? Two birds with one stone (pardon the pun) – ticking off both marathon and world record in one go? I rashly said this out loud to too many people, and now I’m doing it.
I’m running for WWF – an organisation like my own, BirdLife International, striving to highlight and address the nature and climate emergency, and which I’ve worked alongside for years.* Having just turned 50, during which time wildlife populations have plummeted by a shocking 73% (who says you’re never too old to stretch yourself and do something different for a cause in which you believe, and attempt to change the trajectory of global biodiversity decline along the way?). And, yes, dressed as a bird (that’s the world record attempt bit - a Scarlet Macaw to be precise).
To manage expectations, I haven’t gone jogging since circa 2005. And having now updated my sports bra and trainers and tried it out again, I remember why. I still hate jogging, and my knees already hurt. Oh, and apparently I need to run it in less than 4:30 hours to get the record (which is quick, even before the various handicaps mentioned above). But here's hoping I catch the bug at some point before race day (27 April), and if not, well, it’s only a few months of pain and misery (according to my new app, the 'couch to marathon' training plan starts 9 December...).
See below for regular updates (including photographic evidence) if you want to see how this madcap endeavour has been going... (Am also posting a bit on LinkedIn, Facebook and X - or Strava for those so inclined.) And you can even follow me during the race via the TCS London Marathon app (search for my name or bib number 40659).
All support – both emotional and financial – will of course help make it all worth it. And it would be extra amazing to hear a big #CawForTheMacaw either virtually or in person on the day, to really get the message out! THANK YOU!!!
* For example, you can see both WWF and BirdLife colleagues behind me together calling for a nature positive global goal at the biodiversity COP15 in Montreal in 2022: https://www.voanews.com/a/biodiversity-talks-open-as-un-chief-calls-for-peace-pact-with-nature/6867346.html
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Target
£2,250
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Raised so far
£3,074
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Number of donors
90
My Story
** POST-MARATHON UPDATE: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! Mission accomplished - see below for updates or here for a full summary of the day, including photos and TV coverage: https://www.facebook.com/share/12CaDe1uMSV/?mibextid=wwXIfr. Keep those donations coming to really smash another target! **
So. Last year while cheering on my friend Javier in the London Marathon, I noticed people running past with ‘official attempt’ pinned to their back and thought, why not? Two birds with one stone (pardon the pun) – ticking off both marathon and world record in one go? I rashly said this out loud to too many people, and now I’m doing it.
I’m running for WWF – an organisation like my own, BirdLife International, striving to highlight and address the nature and climate emergency, and which I’ve worked alongside for years.* Having just turned 50, during which time wildlife populations have plummeted by a shocking 73% (who says you’re never too old to stretch yourself and do something different for a cause in which you believe, and attempt to change the trajectory of global biodiversity decline along the way?). And, yes, dressed as a bird (that’s the world record attempt bit - a Scarlet Macaw to be precise).
To manage expectations, I haven’t gone jogging since circa 2005. And having now updated my sports bra and trainers and tried it out again, I remember why. I still hate jogging, and my knees already hurt. Oh, and apparently I need to run it in less than 4:30 hours to get the record (which is quick, even before the various handicaps mentioned above). But here's hoping I catch the bug at some point before race day (27 April), and if not, well, it’s only a few months of pain and misery (according to my new app, the 'couch to marathon' training plan starts 9 December...).
See below for regular updates (including photographic evidence) if you want to see how this madcap endeavour has been going... (Am also posting a bit on LinkedIn, Facebook and X - or Strava for those so inclined.) And you can even follow me during the race via the TCS London Marathon app (search for my name or bib number 40659).
All support – both emotional and financial – will of course help make it all worth it. And it would be extra amazing to hear a big #CawForTheMacaw either virtually or in person on the day, to really get the message out! THANK YOU!!!
* For example, you can see both WWF and BirdLife colleagues behind me together calling for a nature positive global goal at the biodiversity COP15 in Montreal in 2022: https://www.voanews.com/a/biodiversity-talks-open-as-un-chief-calls-for-peace-pact-with-nature/6867346.html
