Tristan Walker-Buckton, 44, from Streatham, will be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday 12 April. Having run over a dozen marathons in his life, this will be his fourth time raising money for Independent Age, a national charity that supports older people living in financial hardship. He is hoping to raise at least £350:
www.justgiving.com/page/tristan-walker-buckton-4
Tristan works for Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension schemes, who have been partnered with Independent Age since 2019. In that time Tristan has been a keen fundraiser, taking on three London Marathons for the charity so far.
Tristan said:
“Independent Age have always been a wonderful charity to run for, incredibly supportive, and the work they do is so important. I learned so much last year at their Poverty in Later Life conference, hearing from the people who have been helped by the charity, speaking to volunteers, and seeing how much more work is needed to help older people in poverty.”
Tristan likes to put in the extra mile for his fundraising by wearing a costume, and this year is no different.
Tristan explained:
“I hadn’t planned to wear a costume for the London Landmarks Half Marathon, but PIC has its 20th anniversary this year, and we’ve set ourselves a target of raising £250,000. The PIC Board will then match all funds, so it would be £500,000 in total!
“I really wanted to contribute to hitting this huge goal, so I’ve decided to run in an outfit entirely chosen by my colleagues. I don’t know yet exactly what it will be, so that will be a fun surprise and hopefully help to raise more funds.”
Joanna Elson CBE, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said:
“It’s great to see Tristan running for us again this year. His consistent commitment over the years has been a great contribution to our efforts to support older people in financial hardship.
“We won’t stop fighting to end poverty in later life and we couldn’t do this without dedicated fundraisers like Tristan. Thank you from everyone at Independent Age.”
Independent Age’s helpline and expert advisors offer free, practical support to older people struggling with their finances. Their grants programme supports local organisations working directly with older people across the UK. They use the knowledge and insight gained from their support services and partnerships to highlight the issues experienced by older people in poverty and campaign for change.
