Radio 1 DJ, world music proponent and all-round nice fella Gilles Peterson is running the London Marathon 2011 to help raise money and awareness for the Steve Reid Foundation and the Musicians Benevolent Fund.
Steve Reid was a drummer with a long and illustrious history that stretched from working with James Brown, Miles Davis and Fela Kuti through to his own Steve Reid Trio and more recently working with Kieran Hebden (Four Tet). He died from throat cancer in the US in April 2010 without the money for treatment that could have saved his life.
Says Peterson "To train for the marathon I've been running between 5 to 10 miles a day, changed my diet, gave up a lot of things, and even turned down DJ gigs. Once I cross that finish line, all of this will be worth it."
To sponsor Gilles, head to www.justgiving.com/gillespeterson
