TL;DR: I am running The London Marathon on April 27, 2025, to raise money for The Rory Peck Trust, which provides financial support to freelance journalists in times of need.

 

I am running The London Marathon. That's a marathon — 26.2 miles, or 42.1 kilometres. 

 

To support the Rory Peck Trust, a UK charity which provides support to freelance journalists and their families to improve their welfare and safety, and fights for their right to report freely. This year, it marks 30 years since its founding.

 

I've been a journalist for 20 years, thankfully all of which have been as a staffer at large and well-equipped news organizations — currently at Semafor, and previously at The Atlantic, The New York Times, Agence France-Presse, and Bloomberg News.

 

Throughout my career, in both stable and unstable countries, I've known that I can avail of safety and security resources provided by my employer and that, no matter what, I'll get my salary at the end of the month. This is not true for freelance journalists, and many are in real financial distress. Perversely, now is when they are needed more than ever. Freelance journalists, who are typically paid per story or assignment, don't simply enrich the coverage of staff journalists, they are essential to that coverage, either as teammates, or competitors.

 

• Donate! It's easy — credit and debit cards are accepted from around the world, and UK residents get tax relief
• Tell your friends, family, and colleagues!
• Share my efforts on social media!
• Give me advice! If you've run a marathon before, what worked for you? I'm in a training program, but would love to hear more

• Run 26.2 miles, hopefully in under 4 hours.
• Donate £1 for every minute it takes me on the run. (I'm hoping this doesn't get too excessive.)

I'm building up OK! If you're on Strava, add me.