#MilesForMatt keeps on running (and walking)

Matt Campbell at the 2017 ASICS Windermere Marathon

This Sunday will mark two weeks since Matt Campbell died whilst running the London Marathon.

The talented Masterchef star was fundraising for Brathay Trust. When I wrote the piece about him last week, the incredible figure donated to his JustGiving page was £165,000.

By Saturday, it has soared to £250,000, and on Sunday it passed £300,000. Remarkably, as I write this on Wednesday evening, the total looks set to exceed £350,000.

With my colleagues from Brathay I did what so many others have done recently, and went out on Tuesday and completed 3.7 miles – the distance Matt was from the end of the London Marathon.

Well over 30,000 people have donated, with many of them doing the same distance, running or walking – whichever they could manage. It has been a truly remarkable outpouring of love and generosity that, at times, has even had thick-skinned old me in tears, as I’ve monitored and responded to the thousands of social media posts from kind people letting us know they’ve done their #FinishForMatt.

Whenever you find yourself despairing at the stupidity, selfishness, violence and hatred we humans display so regularly, think about what has happened here. Tens of thousands of people have independently, or in groups, done something entirely altruistic. Most of them never knew Matt in person. Their kindness will go on to benefit many young people that the charity works with.

Maybe there is hope for us as a species after all.

This post first appeared as the third piece in my column/page in The Mail and the News & Star, on the 4th of May 2018. It was re-titled as "Man's humanity to man"... heavy! A slightly random picture of people on the lawn at Brathay Hall during the #LetsRunForMatt was included.

Donations continue to be made to Matt's Justgiving page. At the time of posting this, it was over £361,000.

(CD A-Z: RCD Classic Collection 10 - Indie Guitar Rock.)

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