Hockley man to run London Marathon dressed as Paddington

For many of us, running a marathon would be a big enough challenge.

But not for Hockley man Pete Wiseman. The married father of three is preparing to tackle the Virgin Money London Marathon dressed as Paddington Bear™, the mascot for children’s charity Action Medical Research.

“The one thing I’m really looking forward to is the finish line! That and the crowds; their support is always overwhelming and I hope for more of the same in the big race… I’m going to really need it.”

This won’t be Pete’s first marathon for Action. He ran three in three weeks last year (read more about that challenge). 

And in 2019 he’s already run the ‘Big Half’ dressed as Paddington and the Greater Manchester Marathon 7 April which he ran in as himself for training purposes.

By completing all three challenges he hopes to raise £2,222.

Pete explains why he continues to help Action Medical Research: “My wife Louise runs weekly classes for 0-13 month olds and through those we have become more exposed to families that need the support this type of charity can offer.

 “As a father, the stories I read on the Action website are truly heart-breaking, but the resolve of the families is so inspiring.”    

Action Medical Research is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children. It has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.

Action is currently funding research into areas including premature birth, epilepsy, asthma, scarlet fever, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.

Find out more about Pete’s fundraising here. 

Further reading

You can read more about Pete and his challenge in this short blog:
https://action.org.uk/blog/essex-man-prepares-london-marathon-dressed-paddingtontm

About Paddington Bear:

For 60 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has delighted children and families all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Darkest Peru, famous for his love of marmalade. Paddington is popular with children and adults alike who feel affectionate and warm towards him; the charm and humour of the Paddington stories is the key to their enduring popularity.

Paddington’s adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen. The movie, produced by StudioCanal, part of the international content and media group Vivendi, is the best-selling non-Hollywood family movie ever released. A second Paddington movie, Paddington 2, launched globally at the end of 2017 to great critical acclaim.

In 2016, Vivendi took full ownership of the Paddington brand worldwide, with the exception of the classic publishing rights.

In 2015, in recognition of Paddington’s extraordinary popularity and success, Michael Bond was made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to children’s literature. Michael Bond died in June 2017, leaving behind a legacy of one of the best loved children’s characters in the world. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the first book, A Bear Called Paddington, which was published by William Collins on 13th October 1958.

Follow Paddington on Twitter at @paddingtonbear

Like Paddington’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PaddingtonBear/

©P&Co. Ltd./SC 2019

Licensed on behalf of STUDIOCANAL S.A.S by Copyrights Group.

For more information on Action Medical Research:

Contact Peter Denton, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:

T: 01403 327412
E:pdenton@action.org.uk
W: action.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter at @actionmedres and @amr_events  
Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/actionmedres
Follow us on Instagram at @actionmedres and @actionevents

Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For more than 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.

Join our fight for little lives today.

Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.