Fizzy | This Is Strong

"I know I'm lucky - so I feel compelled to run....I do it because I can."

I have run 19 London Marathons, 1 New York Marathon and the Marathon des Sables (along with a few 10K, halfs and Ultras when I’ve been in training!) but I don’t actually like running that much!! I do these things not because of the love of marathons and running but because of two main reasons - First, I have a love for a challenge and truly believe anyone can do anything they want if they put their mind to it. If I can do it and I’m asked to do it then if I say no it seems lazy in my head, I don’t look at other people being lazy if they don’t but for me I know I can do these things so I should just get on and do it!! It’s also not just running challenges, I have the habit of feeling I can’t say no to things and so have also broken a world record for the worlds Longest Gig (I sang in a band for 44hrs and 34 minutes) & cycled 400miles across France! Secondly, each challenge I do I raise money for charity and am fortunate enough to have raised over £100,000 so far - I change the charity each year so that I raise it for a variety of causes and people often ask me to raise money for their chosen charity. I worry that people may feel I don’t really care and I’m flippant with my money raising but the reason I change charities each year is because I count myself so incredibly lucky that I don’t have a charity close to my heart – this is why I have to keep going and keep raising money for charity because I’m lucky that I can! There is a small fear that if I stop I may not be so lucky! Why should I only raise money for one specific cause when there are so many out there?

Listen to Fizzy tell her story here:

I worry about people feeling guilty about not sponsoring me so I try not to thank people vocally infront of others because I’d hate for someone to find it uncomfortable that they weren’t able to sponsor me, I totally understand I ask too much and too often and that people are constantly being called upon for donations and I’d hate for someone to think I’d judge if they hadn’t sponsored me or feel guilty for not doing so!

I sometimes get a bit embarrassed about my times for the marathons as most people assume I’m a obsessed with running and therefore must be rather good at it however, I’m really not very good at it and I don’t really like it! I do it because I can not because I’m good at it! I get frustrated when people get competitive about times for marathons (unless they are elites and actually properly fast!) because why should someone feel bad if they are not the fastest surely if it’s hard for them but they are doing it anyway then that’s the achievement not whether you break a specific time barrier - some of the people I admire the most are the people at the back, just because they are slow doesn’t mean they’re not trying as hard, if you think about it they are in pain for longer!! Why do we live in a society where only the best is good enough, we should champion everyone for giving it a go and trying their hardest – I want my children to believe they can do anything they want! They will never be the best at everything so does that mean they shouldn’t try at everything? This is why I feel I have to take on these challenges to show people you can do it and you don’t have to be the best at it, just give it a try and enjoy it!!

Some of the charities and causes that Fizzy has raised money for:

Tommy’s Baby charity - funding research into miscarriage, still birth & premature birth and providing pregnancy information to parents.

https://www.tommys.org

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fizzyegan

Get A-head - A cancer charity fighting all head & neck diseases

https://getahead.org.uk

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=FizzyEgan&pageUrl=1

Michele Rodford Cancer journey;

https://uk.gofundme.com/f/micheles-journey-you-me-hope

Jane Tomlinson Appeal - Improves lives of people living with Cancer

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fizzys14thlondonmarathon

https://www.janetomlinsonappeal.com