Matt’s still making a difference

Matt Campbell set out on the 26.2 mile course of the London Marathon last weekend, but he didn’t make it back.

After collapsing less than four miles from the finishing line, Matt tragically died. The 29 year-old Cumbrian was a star of Masterchef, and also a committed supporter of the charity I work for, Brathay Trust.

Matt’s family had already had to deal with the early death of his father, Martin, in 2016, who had also championed the charity. His ever-cheery support of our 10in10 (ten marathons in ten days) challenge saw him live and breathe the event from start to end, filming, editing and documenting the runners’ daily battles with the groundhog-day effects of running the same course and battling their increasing tiredness and injuries, to raise vital funds.

Befriending all who took part, ‘Camera Dude’ was a big, and important, part of the event for the runners, and he left a huge void when he died. After his untimely death, Matt picked up that support of Brathay, running in memory of his father, and fundraising to support our work with children and young people.

He had recently completed the Manchester Marathon, and had a relatively modest target of £2500 that he wanted to raise from the two events. After he died and the news spread, something amazing started to happen.

People began to donate to Matt’s Justgiving page. By lunchtime on the Monday, his total had rocketed to £25,000 – ten times his target. By the end of the day it was at £70,000. Tuesday saw it reach £130,000. At the time of writing (Wednesday evening) it’s over £165,000. Factor in Gift Aid, and donations via other routes, and that’s a stunning £200,000 and still rising. By the time you read this, I don’t doubt that the figure will be truly staggering. A quarter of a million pounds seems entirely possible.

The continuing increase has been fuelled by a simple, but brilliant, idea – ordinary people are finishing the 3.7 miles Matt didn’t get to run to complete his marathon. It has a multitude of hashtags on social media, but #MilesForMatt and #FinishForMatt sum it up nicely.

Some are doing it individually, others in groups, and more still are organising runs with their running clubs and local Park Run over the coming days. Most are pledging to donate £5 once they’ve done it.

The London Marathon Support Group are organising a run, and one will have taken place yesterday over the last 3.7 miles of the Windermere Marathon route, which finishes at Brathay Hall in Ambleside, on the lawn overlooking Windermere – a view familiar to Matt, and one he was set to see again when he completed the ASICS Windermere Marathon in just a few weeks, on the 20th of May.

It’s been a hectic week for the team at Brathay. It isn’t a large charity, so contending with the huge amount of media coverage, thousands of messages via social media, and the important task of starting to consider how the money will be used, has been challenging.

Chief Executive Godfrey Owen has been on BBC Breakfast TV, and we’ve talked to BBC and ITV reporters for TV and radio, plus newspapers, magazines and websites. Remarkably, on Wednesday it was even mentioned in the House of Commons, with Prime Minister Theresa May adding her condolences, and mentioning the incredible amounts of money donated to Brathay in Matt’s memory.

However me and my colleagues might feel about the media attention and increased workload, we understand and accept that we have to do this, and we have to do it well – Matt wanted to raise as much money as possible for Brathay, and we will do everything we can to support that. Nothing can compare to the utter devastation Matt’s family are contending with. Brathay will be working with them to ensure that the money donated is used wisely, and provides a fitting and lasting legacy.

I hope that they can take some comfort from knowing that, whilst Matt is gone, thousands of people are honouring him by supporting the charity he, and his father, were so passionate about.

On Tuesday afternoon, staff at Brathay will undertake their own 3.7 miles for Matt, remember his life, and give thanks for the incredible gift he has given us. We’ll use it wisely.

Brathay’s mission is to improve the life chances of children, young people and families by inspiring them to engage positively in their communities. Thousands of people are doing just that, in his name.

Thank you, Matt.

This post first appeared as the lead piece in my column/page in The Mail and the News & Star, on the 27th of April 2018.

Perhaps reflecting the sombre nature of this piece, the paper dropped the "A wry look at the week" text from the page header. This was an unusually long piece  - 757 words - for two reasons. Firstly, it warranted it, but secondly, as the incredible response to Matt's death took off, I wound up putting in a lot of extra hours at work to help Brathay cope with the unprecedented level of enquiries, messages, and the very tricky task of responding appropriately.

Hence, I'd already written the second, smaller piece over the weekend, and the majority of this one on Tuesday, but wound up extending it on Wednesday night before submitting, and not writing a third piece.

It has been a truly stunning and humbling week and a half since Matt died. A little more on this will be part of this week's column from me too.

(CD A-Z: I've reached the uncategorisable section! Currently listening to "Space and Beyond" - a collection of science fiction film music. That's how I roll, baby!)