Marathon effort to raise money for sight charities

Runners with links to an award-winning Northampton optometrists will raise money for two sight charities when they take part in the London Marathon.

Amar Dave, a dispensing optician at TK&S Optometrists in Kingsley Road, Northampton, will be attempting his first full marathon while raising funds for VICTA – a national charity that provides support to children and young adults up to the age of 29 who are blind or partially sighted and their families.

Teenager Josh Funnell, whose father Richard is TK&S’s accountant, will also be running his first non-stop marathon in aid of Guide Dogs. His family look after Dennis, a three-year-old guide dog stud who has already sired two litters of pups who will go on to be working dogs.

Both runners need to raise a minimum of £2,000 each to secure their place in the race and are appealing for donations to help reach their targets.

Amar said: “I took up running just after lockdown and I’ve done a few halves but this is my first full marathon. I’d love to break four hours but we’ll see how we go.

“I wanted to raise money for a charity that means something to me and VICTA is an exceptional cause that makes a real difference to its users.”

Josh, a first-year international business student at Loughborough University, said: “We have seen at first-hand the impact guide dogs have. They change lives every day. There is a waiting list of hundreds of people desperate for a guide dog and we need to get more people registered as puppy raisers to help clear the backlog.

“I’m looking forward to running and I’d love to do it in under three and a half hours. I did a ‘fractured’ marathon in Derbyshire where you do 10 loops of a 2.6 mile circuit with a short break in between but this will be my first time running the distance in one go.”

To sponsor Josh visit https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/josh-funnell

To sponsor Amar visit: https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/amar-dave

To make an appointment with Tompkins, Knight & Son call 01604 714413 or visit www.tks-optometrists.co.uk.