Marcel van der Molen, a native of the Netherlands who now lives in Iraklion, ran the recent Athens Classic Marathon in order to raise money for the Cretan Animal Welfare Group (CAWG) in Malia.

He had asked family, friends and colleagues to pledge money in case he would complete the 42 kilometre route from Marathon to the centre of Athens, which he did in 03:44:20 – raising an impressive 2.225 euros for CAWG.

Initially, Marcel decided to run the marathon – his first ever – as a personal challenge following his participation in some organised runs in Iraklion and Lasithi Plateau.

 However, while training he spotted a sickly-looking kitten on the side of the road.  He caught the kitten, which could barely breathe, wrapped it in an old jacket, took it home and tried to make it comfortable.

Having heard of the work being done by CAWG, Marcel contacted Gayner Vlastou, head of the shelter, and arranged a meeting. 

"In the care of the Cretan Animal Welfare Group the kitten, by this time named 'lero,' made a swift recovery from severe cat flu," Marcel said. "He has fully recovered, and I now have a new pet."

Marcel said this incident inspired him to run the Marathon in support of CAWG.

"The Cretan Animal Welfare Group is an amazing charity run by Gayner and her husband, Michalis," he added. "They address the root causes of the problem by focusing on the neutering of cats and dogs and the education of children, which are the two issues that will make a huge difference in the long term."

Marcel said he was very grateful for his sponsors' generous support, and urged others to help this worthy organization, which can be done by visiting www.cawg-greece.com.