Running for Glory

On Sunday 22 April, Ben Ryall will become the first individual to represent the College in the London Marathon.

When PhD student Ben Ryall took part in a competition to win the chance to become the College's 2007 London Marathon runner, he did so to win! With an impressive performance in a fitness challenge event at Ethos and a compelling statement about why he wanted to run on behalf of the College, Ben was an ideal candidate for the place.

Ben has a long association with Imperial College; arriving in 2000 to begin his BSc in Biology and graduating three years later with first class honours. Since then he has been working towards his BBSRC funded PhD in Dr Huw Williams' group where he has been researching Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria that affects individuals with cystic fibrosis. In March 2007, when he has finished writing up, he will take up a post-doctoral position within the same group.

When he's not working with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a lot of Ben's spare time is spent pursuing sporting interests. His main passion is triathlon, in which he represented Great Britain in the European Championships in 2006 and qualified for the World Championships. It is perhaps surprising then that London 2007 will be his first marathon. Despite this, Ben is not taking the challenge lightly, setting himself the impressive goal of completing the course in 2 hours 50 minutes or under.

Ben is using the Marathon place to raise money for the Student Opportunities Fund, which provides entry scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students coming to Imperial. Sixty scholarships have been awarded through the Fund since 2003, enabling gifted students to study at Imperial who may otherwise have been unable to do so. The majority of funds to date have been raised from alumni through activities such as the telethon and direct mail appeals.

Of the cause that he is raising money for, Ben says: "I came to Imperial as a mature student and was fortunate that my girlfriend's parents were able to provide me with accommodation. Without this help, I would almost certainly have not been able to afford my studies here. I am therefore only too aware of the outstanding chances the Student Opportunities Fund can offer to talented students who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend this world class university." He continues: "I feel privileged to be running my first Marathon for Imperial and hope that people around the College will consider supporting me through sponsorship."

Ben's progress, including a weekly training diary, is being tracked closely on the College website, where you can also pledge your sponsorship online: www.imperial.ac.uk/alumni/marathon2007.