One year on from release, Anoosheh is heading for his second London Marathon

This time last year Anoosheh Ashoori was released after nearly five years of captivity in Iran, alongside Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, to return home to the UK. He puts his survival, in part, down to running whilst in prison, which he has continued this past year. Anoosheh ran his first marathon in October 2022 at the age of 68. Following this feat, he was recently given the Spirit of London Marathon Award and will be running the 26.2 miles through London streets again this April. 

Last year, on 2 October 2022, my five-year-old dream came true when I ran the London Marathon. From the early days of my ordeal in Evin Prison, I made it my goal to run the London Marathon anytime I was released, even if it meant that I was in my late seventies!

I ran that race in solidarity with all those I had left behind, and with the intention of fundraising and promoting social awareness about two noble charity organisations, namely, Amnesty International and Hostage International. My son, Aryan, trained with me but only two days before the event he tested positive for COVID-19 and could not participate in the race.

This year, with even greater energy and enthusiasm than last year, my children Elika and Aryan, will be running the 2023 London Marathon alongside me, in support of Hostage International which discreetly supports families affected by hostage-taking, and Amnesty International in solidarity with the brutalised people of Iran.

Every little bit that you donate to Hostage International will be spent on efforts to support the victims of hostage-taking and to help them and their families deal with the trauma and the multitude of difficulties they face pre and post-release.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you, who remind me that despite all the corruption and suffering that we are witnessing on a daily basis all around the world, humanity is not dead and there are millions of good people out there.

Find out more and please support us here.

The image pictures Anoosheh at one of his training runs at the Cambridge Half Marathon earlier this year.