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Matt Marino

London Marathon 2025

Donate to Matt and help them hit their goal of £2000!

I’m running the London Marathon 2025 to fight for lung health!

Every minute, someone in the UK is diagnosed with a lung condition. I know what it feels like to deal with lung conditions - I had asthma as a child and still suffer from exercise-induced asthma as an adult. I've managed to complete many races, including seven marathons, and I want to make a difference in running for a cause that's personal to me. I'm running the London Marathon 2025 for Asthma + Lung UK, the only UK charity that fights for everyone’s right to breathe. Every pound (or dollar, LOL) I'm able to raise will take us a step closer to a world where everyone has healthy lungs. My lungs may never be fully healthy, but I sure as heck want to help others get to that point. 

Just £22 allows one of Asthma + Lung UK's nurses to answer a call on the Helpline, offering potentially lifesaving advice. No amount is too small. If you're reading this, chances are you know that I'm going all-in on raising money for a good cause. I'd be very grateful for any donations you could make!

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

£2,000 + £10.50 GiftAid

My Goal

£2,000

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My Achievements

My Updates

I DID IT!!

Wednesday 30th Apr
What a race! What a day! What an experience! The London Marathon was everything I thought it would be and so much more. Heat aside (and it was HOT, especially toward the end), I ran a solid race and finished in 4:12:53, which is only a minute off my PR. Not too shabby! More than that, though, I ran for an incredible charity and had support from mile 1 to mile 26.2. I am so thankful to have had this chance to run for Asthma+Lung UK and encourage ANYONE looking to be a charity runner next year to apply ASAP to run for them. I’m only a few hundred pounds short of my goal, so if you were waiting until I finished the race to donate, here’s your chance. As always, I appreciate the support!!

Two Weeks Until the Big Day!!

Monday 14th Apr
This past Sunday, I ran my last big training race - the Jersey City Half Marathon - for London. I set a new personal record for the half-marathon distance, which gives me great confidence going into the marathon. I'm inching closer to my fundraising goal and appreciate everyone who's donated or will donate. Thank you! 

What do the athletes in the pic have in common?

Saturday 12th Apr
Any guesses? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? If you said, “They are athletes with asthma,” congratulations! You get...the satisfaction of knowing you’re right!

I’ve done the “fun-raising” posts, but why am I really running London for my charity? Here’s why.

I’ve always had small lung capacity and had terrible asthma when I was younger. My inhaler was always with me, and when I didn’t have it, I panicked. On those hot/humid or cold/freezing days, my lungs struggled to keep a normal breathing pattern. As I got older, I learned how to manage my breathing, but I also realized that I’d never have what you call normal breathing. If you’d told me as a kid that I’d be running races (particularly marathons), I’d have said you were nuts. Yet here we are. I still have exercise-induced asthma, and I still have a rescue inhaler, and I still use it before every long run or whenever I need it. Being an athlete with asthma isn’t easy, but when I look at the other athletes who’ve managed their asthma, I feel pretty comfortable knowing I’m in good company. My body feels ready for London in a few weeks, but if the weather works against my lungs, I’ll manage just like I always do. If I need to slow down or walk, then I'll slow down and walk. No ego, amigo!

Chances are that you either have asthma/a lung condition or know someone who has/had asthma/a lung condition. Right now, I am about £800 from my £2000 fundraising goal. If 37 people reading this who haven’t yet donated do donate £22 (about $29) each, I’ll hit my goal. The money I raise will help a very deserving charity with their asthma & lung health research and care.

My two goals for every race are to finish on my own two feet and to not come in last. So far (knock on wood), I’ve kept that streak going, and I sure as heck won’t let my asthma get in the way of crossing another finish line. If you haven’t yet donated, please consider a £22 donation to get me to the fundraising finish line. Thank you for reading!

My Action Figure!

Friday 11th Apr
Not too shabby if I do say so myself...

Mission: Accomplished!

Thursday 6th Mar
Hey all! Remember how I said I'd wear my traffic cone garb to my next half marathon if I raised £200? Well, I raised it (actually more), so I kept my promise. I ran the Atlanta Half Marathon on March 2, and, despite not intending to "race" (I was aiming for a training run), I set a new PR (personal record) with a time of 1:48:20. I'm very happy with the results and am feeling awesome going into this last 1 1/2 months of training for London. 

I plan on doing another "you donate, I wear it" fundraiser for my April half marathon, so stay tuned. Thank you all for your support! 

Hope This New Fundraiser Brings Traffic! 😂

Tuesday 7th Jan
Hey all! Hope your 2025 has begun well. So far, I've raised a little over 10% of my £2000 goal. I've been trying to think of creative ways to raise money, so here's my next attempt. 

If you know anything about NJ, you know we have...construction delays. Lots of construction delays. Everywhere you go, a highway is inevitably being worked on, a road is inevitably being closed, and detours are endless. When you see traffic cones on a road, your blood pressure starts rising. That's true of many areas, but NJ is toward the top of the list. 

With that, I have a fun challenge. If I can raise another £200 by the end of January, I'll run my next half marathon (currently scheduled for March 2) dressed as...traffic cones. That's right: traffic cones. See here: https://www.chicknlegs.com/collections/mens-tops/products/mens-traffic-cones-performance-singlet?variant=43806218158336. I'll proudly wear the singlet and shorts for 13.1 miles. If I can raise £300, I'll add an orange hat and socks. And if can raise £400 or more, I'll add something Jersey-related (TBD). All YOU need to do is donate! Every dollar (pound) helps, and you'll get a shout-out from yours truly. Pass this on to family and friends, too. More ideas are percolating, so know that there will be other opportunities to help. Thank you!!! 

November is in full swing!

Thursday 14th Nov
Hey all! Just a quick update to thank everyone who's donated to my "Miles for Matt!" fundraiser so far. Remember, for every 5 pounds you donate, I'll run a training mile for you. You also get to choose the music I run to, and it can be ANYTHING! I've had some fun so far and am in the mood for more runs. So keep those donations coming!

Speaking of runs, I ran the Boston Half this past weekend. What a race! It'd been years since I did that one, but I'm happy to say I PRed (set a personal record) for a half marathon by almost 20 minutes and ran the race in about 1:52. That's something I never could've imagined at the beginning of the year. Note to self: training and discipline pay off. Boston is a great city but a challenge for runners (lots of hills), so the half was pretty much perfect as it gets for me. Hopefully, I'll get to run the full someday. 

As far as other races go, I have a 15K in Central Park in December, and that'll be it for 2024 races. However, I'm already lining up more races for 2025, especially a few before London. Races are great to add to training because they kick up your competitive spirit - something much needed in a marathon! 

That's all for now. Again, thank you for donating!

FUN-raising with Matt!

Friday 18th Oct
Hi all! I’m officially in fundraising mode, so I thought I could make it a little fun for you and for me. For every £5 donation I receive, I will dedicate one mile of my training to you and will tag you (unless you don’t want me to) with proof of the mile completed. That means, if you donate £10, you’ll get 2 miles in your honor. £20? 4 miles. I’ll also let you choose the music (genre or artist) for your miles. Think of it as an “adopt-part-of-Matt’s-highway-to-London” program. You also can share this with your family members, friends, work/school networks, and so on. (To my former students: help Mr. Marino out and do your social media sharing thing. 😉) Just know that I have a treadmill, so there’s no worrying about winter weather getting in the way of training. 

Message me if you have any questions. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for helping me in my efforts to raise money for this cause. I can’t wait to hit the streets of London and run not only for me, not only for Asthma + Lung UK, but also for you.

Thank you to my Sponsors

£23

Matt Marino

I hit my goal!

£24

Anonymous

£24

Anonymous

Congratulations!

£63

Saltscape Wellness Center

Congrats Matt on running in the marathon & this is a great cause!

£134

Anonymous

Great job running, Matt! Congratulations!

£63

Anonymous

£63

Jackie Mccarthy

£42

Mike & Sally Nenno

Good Luck

£40

Lorraine Nenno

Best of luck Matt! We are rooting for you, Enjoy!!

£42

Samantha Fogliano

Good luck Matt!

£23.10

Kate Barch

Let’s gooooooo

£27.51

Caroline Gee

Will be there to cheer you on!

£22

Glennon Family

£22

Marian Desimone

£23.10

Jennifer Simcovitch

£40

Devon Seidman

Go Tio Matt!!

£23.10

Corie Tarbet

£63

Mary Von Der Heide

£10

Barry Orth

£31.50

Michelle Giannone

2 weeks! Let’s goooo

£40

Chris Lauren Natasha & Natalia Marino

Go Matt! Great work keep it up!!

£26.25

Ryan Reed

Go crush it in London!

£40

Maryann Corcoran

Good luck, Matt. Safe travels. Proud of you.♥️🙏

£23.10

Tara Moran

You got this!!!! I don’t remember if this is the fundraiser with the song requests, but I request you add Linoleum by NOFX 😀

£41

Matt's Ncaa Bracket Challenge & Marathon Playlist

Thank you to Melissa VDH, Mary VDH, Chris R., Joe F., Charles K., Keith K., and Mike C. (who gave a bonus donation) for playing the NCAA Bracket Challenge and donating! Also, thank you to Melissa for the playlist donation!

£63

Christopher Reimers

Good luck Matt!

£23.10

Helen Chuah

Let’s go Matt!

£52.50

Marlies Braade

£23.10

Robert Gurske

£52.50

Douglas Chiu

£60

Joe Schiavo

LGM !!!!

£23.10

Dan Crevier

See you in London!

£42

Bridget Johnson

£42

Dennis Reilly

Best of luck, Matt!

£23.10

Andy Wong

£23.10

Kelley

£42

Phil Schachter

LFG!

£43.05

Laura Nenno

Best of luck with the race Uncle Matt!

£52.50

Dom Saliola

Good luck!

£42

Michael Lapolla

£23.10

Anonymous

Have fun running in London!

£23.10

Anne Stefanoski

Best of luck, Matt!

£81

Rob And Karina Luttner

Have an awesome run my friend!! Wish we could run with you but there are other majors in the horizon for Rob and I! London 2026 Good luck 👍

£22

J. Bonk

Best of luck in this great cause, Matteo!

£22

Matt Glennon

£40

Annette Forlano

£42

Frank Marino

Matt, best of luck, Mom & Dad

£22

Marissa

£42

Denise Harrington

Good luck! Kick butt!:)

£15.75

John Greenblatt

Good luck buddy!

£52.50

Clare Hilliard

Good luck, Matt!

£22

Emma Phillips

£11.60

Matt Marino

^