Teacher to run marathon to fund school beach trip

Ryan Thomas will run his fifth marathon in London on Sunday

A school assistant head teacher will run his fifth marathon in a bid to fund a trip to the beach for his pupils.

Ryan Thomas, 35, who works at Beck Row Primary Academy in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, will compete in the 26.2m (42km) London Marathon on Sunday.

He had previously been told he would never be able to complete a marathon following a lung operation at 19.

A total of 251 Beck Row pupils will then race the Mini London Marathon at their school in May to raise funds for a day out to Hunstanton beach in Norfolk.

'He inspires me'

"Anything is possible for anyone," Mr Thomas said.

"It’s working within your means and your drive to do that."

At 19, he suffered a collapsed lung on multiple occasions and had major lung operation called a pleurectomy.

Although he said he cannot run to the "maximum" effort he could before, Mr Thomas said running was "exceptionally good" for his mental health due to "that time to get out there and clear your head".

He first ran the London Marathon in 2013 and this year's event was inspired by a former pupil at an autism school in Cambridge who died, aged 15, in 2021.

During lockdown Mr Thomas was able to visit Andy in hospital.

"Towards his final couple of weeks, I had a very close relationship with his parents. I would go round for the afternoon and I would just sit and read books and he would drift in and out, he continued.

"He [Andy} inspires me. He was a child who made immense progress in what he was doing but just didn’t get the opportunity.

"When you are 19 miles into your training run and thinking ‘oh my toe hurts’, you just think ‘Ryan, come on’.

"I wish it had never happened but if I can do things to keep his memory going, absolutely I will."

'Life changing'

As well as fundraising for the National Autistic Society, Mr Thomas said he was aiming to get his pupils to the beach.

"Over 50% of our children have never been to the beach, so what probably sounds like quite a simple thing is actually quite life changing to them," he said.

Once they have taken on this year's mini marathon - where they cover a mile (1.6km) - the school hopes to take them to the event in central London for 2025.

"So many of our children have never been to London and even the thought of me going there is mind-blowing, hence the trips that we are putting on," Mr Thomas said.

"They are definitely inspired."

Mr Thomas, who got a place through the Team TCS Teachers scheme, said he was looking forward to showing the children his event medal on Monday morning.

"There’s no better way to inspire them than to show you can do it," he added.