Norwich pastor completes Covid-19 marathon effort 

Soul Church pastor, and Norwich City FC chaplain, Jon Norman has completed a 26.2 mile marathon in his back garden to raise over £20,000 for the local Covid-19 relief effort. Keith Morris reports.

Jon completed the marathon, on Friday April 3, on a treadmill in a time of 5hrs 7mins and raised an impressive £20,250 – double his initial target.
 
The money has been raised for the Soul Foundation UK and its local Covid-19 relief effort which is helping to supply families with food via Norwich foodbank and purchasing storage space for donated supplies.
 
Jon tweeted: “We did it. A simply outstanding effort from everyone. All proceeds going to the @soulfoundationuk covid-19 relief effort, helping those in greatest need in our county. From the bottom of my heart thank you to everyone who donated, sent kind messages and cheered me on.”
 
Jon told the EDP: “I honestly would have been happy with £500 at the beginning of the day, but everyone was just so generous. I really think the situation we are all in has brought people closer together and this generosity just shows that. There’s a true sense of camaraderie at the minute - a feeling that we are all going through this together.

“I think people saw this as a really positive distraction - so many people watched me and cheered me on and seeing all the comments really helped me along.”
 
A documentary providing a behind the scenes look at Jon’s previous marathon challenge last year, alongside former Norwich City defender Louis Blois, when the pair ran seven marathons for the Soul Foundation, has been shown on the Soul Church YouTube channel.
 
You can still sponsor Jon by clicking here.
 
Pictured above, Soul Church pastor Jon Norman runs the marathon in his garden. Picture: Jon Norman