FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2018 Virgin Money London Marathon: The Runners' Stories
29/03/2018
The Virgin Money London Marathon is the world's largest one-day fundraising
event and more than 75 per cent of the 40,000+ runners will be raising
money for charity on Sunday 22 April, adding to the incredible total of
£890+ million raised in the first 37 years of the event.
Every runner has very personal reasons to run the famous 26.2-miles and
here are some of their stories:
Siblings Georgia, Hugo and Anthony Rawlinson will run this year's Virgin
Money London Marathon with the memory of their mum, Penny, forefront in
their minds. Initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, Penny had been
given the all-clear when she started to feel unwell. Numerous doctor and
hospital visits failed to show that she was suffering from secondary breast
cancer, which had spread to her heart cavity, an extremely rare form of
cancer. Devastated, the siblings decided to turn their heartbreak into
something positive and are hoping to raise £60,000 for Breast Cancer Now in
memory of their mum who would have turned 60 this year.
Also running in memory of a loved one is 21-year old Sophie Holt who is
raising money for MIND following her sister Gemma's suicide in 2015. Gemma
had suffered with mental health issues for some time and younger sister
Sophie is hoping that by running the Virgin Money London Marathon she can
help remove the stigma that still surrounds mental health, and encourage
others to speak up when they are struggling.
Taking her place on the Start Line of the Virgin Money London Marathon will
be the culmination of 18-months of hard work and dedication for 29-year old
Claire O'Hara. Weighing over 18 stone after giving birth to her son William
in December 2015, Claire has lost a staggering eight stone and has now set
her sights on completing the 26.2-mile race to prove anyone can do it. She
will be raising money for Centrepoint after witnessing the reality of
homelessness in her hometown of Liverpool while out on her training runs.
While Claire completes her first marathon on 22 April, fellow runner Steve
Edwards will set out to complete his 820th marathon, and 23rd London
Marathon. He is on a mission to complete 1,000 official marathons in the
fastest average finish time, sub 3hr 30. This year, he will be raising
funds for Kate's Home Nursing, a small charity based in Gloucestershire
which provides palliative care for patients in the latter stages of
terminal illness.
Three generations of the same family will run the London Marathon together
for the first time in 2018, all raising money for the charity RAFT. Robert
(Bob) Jenkins, his son Robert (Rob) Jenkins Jnr and grandson Iwan Fesnoux
will be at the Start Line in the hope of adding to the £75,000 they have
already raised for RAFT over the last 25 years. The three will leave family
loyalties behind when they set off, each determined to make it to the
Finish Line on The Mall first.
And finally, Timothy Mills will run his first ever London Marathon for this
year's Charity of the Year, Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT). He was first
introduced to TCT at University Hospital Wales where he was treated for
acute lymphoblastic lymphoma in August 2014, aged 20. Tim is now an
ex-patient having completed his treatment in January this year and is
looking forward to celebrating his successful recovery by ticking the 2018
Virgin Money London Marathon off his bucket list.
This is just a small selection of inspiring stories from this year's
runners. Read more below.
- 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon: The Runners' Stories
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