Newport dad inspired to run London Marathon to help children with same health condition

Monday March 25, 2019

Contact is lucky to have a wonderful team of 19 amazing runners taking part in this year's London Marathon. We are inspired and humbled by their tremendous training and fundraising efforts, and will be finding out a bit more about them in the weeks leading up to the big day.

Here Craig Musker from Newport tells us why he is running one of the most famous road races in the world, to raise money for Contact.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is Craig Musker and I live in Newport with my daughter, aged 8. I work at Airbus Defence & Space and two years ago I was diagnosed with dyspraxia and hemiplegia, a type of cerebral palsy that affects movement on one side of the body. At the same time I was persuaded to start running by a work colleague and running has literally changed my life.

Why did you decide to support Contact by taking part in the London Marathon?

I'm taking part in this year's London Marathon to show that having physical limitations does not mean you can't achieve your goal. I want to raise money to support children who have the same condition as I have. Contact is supporting families whose children have Hemiplegia and I wanted to ensure they can continue to do that vital work for more families.

What has been the biggest challenge in your London marathon journey so far?

Without doubt the biggest challenge is the fundraising! But in terms of the running, going out in minus 5 with snow and ice on the ground, and in the strong 50mph+ storm winds of the last few weeks.

What are you most/least excited about?

I am most excited about being on the start line on the day of the marathon, the atmosphere of the crowds and the feeling of getting to the finish line. Least excited about the longer training runs I have coming up in the next few weeks, I am up to 17.5 miles and have some 20 mile runs coming up, including a race in Gloucester which I will use as a practice run for the big day.

Do you have any hobbies or interests outside running?

I run a car club in Newport called Sunnyside Breakfast Meet, where enthusiasts and all types of cars are welcome on the last Sunday of each month to have breakfast, a hot drink and to chat about cars. I also enjoy playing snooker and watching F1, and reading.

To sponsor Craig please visit his Just Giving fundraising page

As part of Craig's fundraising efforts, he is organising a Sunnyside Breakfast Meet charity convoy drive 14^th April; a fun day of driving with fellow enthusiasts over South Wales and Brecon Beacons - 40 supercars, sports cars and classic cars. For anyone interested tickets are available on the Sunnyside Breakfast Meet Facebook page.