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David Croxson

Oxford Half Marathon 2026

Help me reach my goal of £225

I'm taking part in the Oxford half marathon for Thames Valley Air Ambulance!

I'm taking part in the Oxford half marathon 2026 in support of Thames Valley Air Ambulance. 

Earlier this year I ran a marathon over the course of one month and have kept going, improving my parkrun and 10k PBs (something I never thought I’d ever do).  It’s been great for my physical but also my mental health.  This is a massive challenge for me, but one I’m determined to at least try.

TVAA crews are there for people when they need them the most. TVAA are not government or lottery funded, and rely on the generosity of the community, like you, to provide the best critical care at the scene and beyond. Thank you for your support!

Please Help Me
Reach My Goal

Raised

£1,053 + £203.04 GiftAid

My Goal

£225

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My Achievements

Shared Page

50% of distance travelled

Updated Profile Pic

50% of Fundraising Target

Reached Goal

Reached Distance Goal

My Updates

Finish line selfie

Sunday 11th Oct
Omg what an exhausting, exhilarating, beautiful day. Thank you so much for your support.

FINISHED

Sunday 11th Oct

The final countdown

Wednesday 30th Sep
Haven’t updated this blog for a while but I hit a bit of a snag.
A few weeks ago I went out for a short run and every step hurt - sharp pain with every stride in my knee.  I actually stopped after less than a minute. 
What on earth had I done?  Everything had been going fine.  Or so I thought.
Luckily I was poked in the leg by a colleague who runs more often than me and said “does it hurt there?” And by Jove did it!  
Runners Knee I was told. And I was told it was very common in people who suddenly up their usual distance - for example when they’re training for a long run!

A sport massage, foam rollering, stretching and a fortnight off running has got it more or less sorted, though my average running speed has dropped as a result.
I don’t know if I’m taking it too cautiously, or I was overdoing things too soon.
What does it matter though?  Whatever I do it’ll be a personal best for a half marathon.

I have since run 10 miles - twice - and every run seems ok.

So. Bring it on!

2 months to go!

Tuesday 11th Aug
ARGHH!
Each long run feels like quite enough thank you, but something told me to give it a go and I'm determined to try
Week 3 involved 11 miles of running across the week and actually the longest one wasn't so bad.
This week it's 2 miles, 5 miles, 6 miles, which is a bit of a leap.

One Lap Beyond!

Sunday 19th Jul
The challenge was simple. Run 2km on the hour every hour for as many hours as you want to, up to 12 hours maximum.

The location was a farm a few miles away from my home.  Food and drink required, planning required, camping optional.  I opted for a few meal deals and a cool box, plus a futon in the back of the wife’s estate car.

As the race day came closer, emails from Bryan came to the inbox talking about “fuelling” and “planning ahead” and I began to wonder what the hell I’d let myself in for.  Was this some sort of uber serious ultra event where people would be sucking on energy gels between events rather than scotch eggs?

As it turned out it was absolutely lovely.  Yes there were some very experienced ultra marathon types who turned up with primus stoves and massage gels.  But there were plenty of people like me, determined to see how long we could keep going for, with a few things to eat and no idea of what we were doing.

The first few laps were really enjoyable, but I heeded the advice of Bryan who said to take it steady at first and not go all out too soon.  Laps 1, 2, 3 and 4 were taken at around the 15 minute mark (7.30 per km) but something switched in my head having achieved ⅓rd of the event, and I cracked off the 5th lap at 13:34.  That was to be my fastest of the day. 

A very welcome appearance by an ice cream van after lap 7 broke the day up nicely and it began to look like the majority of the participants had decided to stick it out for the whole day.

The last few laps were tough, with knees and hips beginning to scream, “What the hell’s going on?” at me.  But a combination of jogging and walking meant I could focus on doing One Lap Beyond…

But everyone decided to go for the final lap and at 19:14:18 I finished the day, having run for the 12th hour of the challenge.

So that’s 24km (nearly 15miles) run, (plus waddling to and from the car to get scotch eggs) and an all round amazing day of support, chat, laughter and jogging.

I can’t thank the amazing support crew enough for their welcoming, inclusive atmosphere.

I also thank everyone who has donated to this cause, which I shamelessly promoted at the outset of the day. We’ve raised another £100 towards the wonderful work of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance!  

Thank you. 

And now the training for the Oxford Half actually starts …

Just managed 8 miles

Sunday 5th Jul
I went out for a run last night and managed a casual 8 miles. Don’t know where that came from and I had totally had enough by the end of it!

Week One training

Sunday 31st May
Hello everyone,
Firstly thank you to those of you who have supported me so far - it's really amazing - I am very grateful you've put your faith in me,
This week I have started trying to run more slowly in preparation for longer runs.  Running slowly seems harder than running hell for leather somehow.  My hips don't lie but they certainly hurt and I heave realised I need to do better stretching if I'm going to get this done.
Still I have managed 2, 3 and 4 mile runs this week and they have all been at a reasonable half marathon pace (as far as I can tell!)
Onwards!

Something weird happened

Wednesday 20th May
Good morning.  Something odd is going on,  I woke up with an overwhelming desire to run a half marathon.  
Sometimes people wake up in severe pain or distress however, and that is why I am supporting Thames Valley Air Ambulance.  They’re there for people who need immediate and urgent transportation to medical care.  I can’t think of a better cause than them to support as I realise this rash decision of mine.

Please support me if you can. 

Thank you to my Sponsors

£55.88

Bryan Gregory

Go David from TBG

£51

Anonymous

For not thinking that you could … and discovering you can. Congratulations

£50

Sophie Raworth

Brilliant what you’ve done! Proud of you. You can. You will. Go get that medal.

£40

Vic Croxson

Congratulations DJ

£30

Syd And Susan Dalliwater

£28.44

Julia Heydenrych

Here's to cruising in well under your target time.

£28.44

Jean Haysey

£28.44

Anonymous

Good luck David

£25

Vanessa

Hope you had a successful run today! So much effort has gone into your training for this! Love Vanessa, Chris and Stuart

£25

Dad

Rather you than me!

£25

Celia Croxson

Totally amazing, keep on running

£25

Robyn Cox

Good luck from Jean, David & Robyn

£25

Vic Croxson

Good luck dj

£25

Jane Hill

You can do it David! Hope you enjoy it. Looking forward to swapping notes after our events! Jane x

£23.45

Lisa Holland

Good luck, you’ve got this! Amazing achievement already. Will treat you to a post run, BBC cafe morsel when I next see you. What an incentive!! Lisa xx

£23.45

Mandy Blair

Good luck David

£23.45

Maxine Taylor-swain

£23.45

Carol Shay

Wishing you the very best of luck DC!! You’ll nail it!

£23.45

Tom Brada

Gwaaaaarn David!!!!

£23.45

Jayne & Lebby

You are doing a great job. Keep at it. Go enjoy!!!🏃‍♀️👍💪

£23.45

Sharon Barbour

Good luck! Don't forget bouncy shoes.

£22.97

Ollie (fm)

Fantastic achievement. Amazing cause. Well done, David.

£20

Katie Noble

Good Luck David, you've got this. An amazing effort for a great cause.

£20

Pete Croxson

Go well … an amazing thing to do 👍

£20

Vanessa Chris And Stuart

Go David!

£20

Pippa Holloway

Enjoy the run!

£20

Roger

I am sure you will succeed and there will be a treat in cafe or coffee shop after to toast that success!

£20

Nick Buckley

Run!

£20

Rachael Shaw

Good luck David Enjoy the day and soak up the atmosphere. You will absolutely smash it Rachael x

£20

Jaq W

Good luck David! You'll smash it!

£12.25

Mark Mortimer

Well Dave, amazing job. Hope you had fun along the way!!

£12.25

Julie Irving

£12.25

Andrew Gaze

Well done mate glad you survived!!

£12.25

Tracey Robertson

Well done David -a great achievement for a worthy cause . Congratulations to you .

£12.25

Carolyn Wilshire

£12.25

Sian Richards

Well done David, impressive feat and very worth while cause! Good luck!

£12.25

Janice Price

Go for it David

£11.55

Daniel Kerry

Well done David Great charity Lets hope we never need its help … Dan

£11.55

Suzy

You’ve got this!

£11.55

Karen

Don’t get a blister

£11.55

Lyns Frost

Go for it Croxson!

£10

Adam Merriman

Good luck David, you’ve done the hard work. Enjoy today!

£10

Emilia (your Daughter)

Smash it poop

£10

Pippa Holloway

Excellent cause

£10

Sarah Chamberlain

You’ll smash it!

£10

Jane Kinghorn

Well done David- a great cause. 🏃‍➡️

£10

Rich P

*BREAKING SPLASH* RUN!!!!

£10

Rosemary Barker

Good luck David 🍀, you've done so well to get there!

£10

Richard B

Good luck from your personal parkrun pacer - alliteration included

£10

Rachael Payne

Good Luck!!!

£10

Suzie Hardiman

Good luck David. Enjoy every minute! ❤️

£6.56

Billy

Well done Foxy Croxy - amazing.

£5

Caroline Alton

Good Luck David - you'll smash it!!!!