ICAS President and Foundation Alumni Ambassador to take on the London Marathon

In April 2026 ICAS Foundation Alumni Ambassador Dean Scobie CA and ICAS President Karen Scholes CA will be the first runners to take ICAS Foundation charity places in the London Marathon. The training starts now – between them they aim to raise an astonishing £35,000 to support our work. Sponsorship open today!

Every year until 2029, the Foundation has two charity places in the world famous TCS London Marathon. We'll be offering these to supporters who really want to go the extra mile to fundraise to support social mobility. We couldn't be more delighted that the first people to take on the challenge are ICAS President Karen Scholes CA of Scholes CA in Kirkwall, and Dean Scobie CA from our long-term partner firm Consilium Chartered Accountants in Glasgow. 

As a team, they bring so much in terms of experience, motivation and passion for the cause. We hope that you will will get behind them as they train, and then complete the gruelling 26.2 mile run. 

 

Karen Scholes said:

“Running the London Marathon was never part of my agenda as the President of ICAS, but social mobility and access to education have always been a top priority for me. I want my tenure to increase opportunities for young people from low-income backgrounds to enter the profession I love so much.

I’ll be thinking about the potential the Foundation’s students bring to the profession on every run – and talking about the value wherever I can. Taking on the marathon is a huge challenge – in fitness terms, and financially - where I’ve set a target to raise £30,000.”

Sponsor Karen

Dean Scobie said:

“The Foundation helped me throughout my time at university — not just financially, but through the guidance of a mentor who encouraged me and helped me apply for an internship. Thanks to the Foundation, I was put in touch with Consilium, where I completed a 3-month internship in the summer of 2019. I returned the following year as a graduate, qualified as a CA in 2023, and I still work with the firm today.  The Foundation’s support helped shape my journey, and now I’m running to help them create those same opportunities for others.”

Sponsor Dean

 

ICAS Foundation Head of Income and Engagement Chris O’Sullivan added:

“We are very excited to have two amazing runners taking up our first places in the London marathon. Karen has been a brilliant advocate and supporter of our work for many years, and it’s incredible to see her devote time and energy to this challenge in such a busy year. Dean knows first-hand the difference that the Nurturing Talent Programme can make for students, and we’re delighted that he’s volunteered to put in the hard miles to help future students benefit from all the programme has to offer. “

We will be cheering Karen and Dean on at every opportunity and checking in with them regularly as they train.

We’ve still got room in our team. If you’d like to support the Foundation and you have a London Marathon place, we’d love to hear from you, and cheer for you on the day.

If the marathon isn’t your thing, we have several events coming up where supporters can test themselves and raise some money for the Foundation.

• On March 1st you could take on a Firewalk in Aberdeen.
• On March 21st you could abseil from the Falkirk Wheel.
• On August 15th you could take a Zipslide across the loch at Strathclyde Country Park.

Places will be released very soon so if you want to get involved contact us on enquiries@icasfoundation.org.uk.