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Hospice's biggest ever marathon team raise over £60,000

06 May 2011

A team of 55 runners took to the capital's streets on Sunday 17th April to run the London Marathon for Saint Francis Hospice, raising an estimated £60,000.

Despite the heat, all of the runners crossed the finish line on the day, with the fastest runner, David Bell, 21, finishing first in 3 hours 20 minutes.

David, from Romford, was proud of the time he achieved in his first marathon. “I’ve never run in heat like that, but I still managed to beat my target time by 10 minutes,” he said. “Seeing friends and the hospice supporters in the crowd was such a boost - I’ll definitely be running the marathon again for the hospice.” 

Paul Freedman, 86, was officially the oldest runner taking part in the gruelling 26.2 mile race. He finished his 20th London Marathon in 6 hours and 47 minutes, raising over £3,500 for the hospice.

Wearing a t-shirt stating his title as oldest runner, Paul said: “People kept poking me on the back and asking me how old I am. I should have 10 minutes taken off my time! The day was  thoroughly enjoyable because I got to the finish. The crowd kept me going – one or two gave me a push which helped! I’m pleased with my time and I’m definitely planning on doing it again next year – I can’t let the hospice down!” 

Many of the runners took part in memory of a loved one who was cared for by the hospice.

Among them were a couple from Woodford Green tied the knot while running the Marathon. Katrina Scaife, 32, and Andrew Ford, 33, ran down their 20 mile aisle in their wedding gear, before stopping for a ceremony in a nearby hotel, then completing the run as a married couple.

The pair have raised over £6,000 for the hospice, and managed to complete the gruelling 26.2 mile race in 7 hours.

They ran in memory of Andrew's sister, Tina, who received care from the hospice before she sadly died from cancer in 2008. After being engaged for over three years, they decided on a break with tradition for their wedding following Tina's death, when she was aged just 38.

 “We weren’t keen runners before, but then my sister had always said she’d wanted to run the marathon,” Andrew said.  “We watched it over her last weekend at home, and she gave me a look that said “you’ve got to do it now”. That sowed the seeds for our plan - we wanted to give something back to the hospice, and we also felt that this way, Tina would be a guest at our wedding.

 “It was a perfect day, it was so moving and completely surreal it hasn’t settled in yet the fact we’ve actually done it. The atmosphere was fantastic, people seemed to know who we were, other runners saying well done as they went past and the crowd were shouting congratulations.”

Despite the sweat and the aching limbs, the couple made it to their reception after finishing the race, where Andrew proudly said they lasted until the end of the evening. “We were only half an hour late, and we ebbed and flowed all evening – at half 10 we almost left because we felt awful, but we carried on! People have been incredibly kind, the whole thing has been humbling and moving, and just beautiful to be honest.”

Claire Gunn, formally of Romford, made a 12,000km trip from Chile to take part in the race. Claire ran her first marathon in memory of her dad Robert Moss, who died last August following a two year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was cared for at Saint Francis Hospice during the last few weeks of his life.

“I was overwhelmed by the love, care and support provided not just to my dad, but to us, his family,” she said. “We were humbled knowing we were not alone in our pain and so I decided to dedicate my run to my dad and the many doctors, nurses and volunteers at Saint Francis Hospice to give something back so other families can benefit from their specialist care.”

Claire finished the run in 3 hours 56 minutes, and unlike most other runners, was used to the sunny conditions on the day. “It was actually quite cool for me at the start, I ran with gloves on for the first few miles!” she said. “The last two miles were pretty harrowing, and hard on the legs, but when it got hard I thought about my dad and he was with me, getting me to the end. It was an incredible experience, I think there is a risk I’ll get hooked.”

Kevin Childs, 37, from Hornchurch, finished in 4 hours 23 minutes. He was running to raise money for his mother-in-law, who sadly died in the hospice last year. Kevin is new to running, and last year completed a half marathon for the hospice, and has currently raised over £5,400. This year he will take on more half marathons, as well as the Dublin Marathon.

“It was such an emotional day – the hype and support of the crowd, along with knowing I was doing it for Sue and for the hospice, after months of training made it very emotional.  The crowds were superb from half to finish, there were pubs blaring out music – it’s outstanding the number of people that line the route. I can’t wait for the Dublin Marathon now!

"I love raising money for the hospice; it is close to the hearts of the whole family. Without a shadow of a doubt their help has made a huge difference - they didn't just help the direct family - the husband, daughter, and sons - it came down to our children, the grandchildren. We had a problem with our youngest son, they’ve lent us books and been a great help. Nothing was a problem for the hospice – and it still isn’t. The hospice is there for a very valid reason, and it's my pleasure to support them."

Natasha Simmonds, 28, from Ilford, completed the race in 4 hours 30 minutes, running in memory of her granddad William Simmonds, who died in the hospice.

“My nan always goes on about how well he was treated, so it’s always been a charity I’ve wanted to raise any money for because it means quite a lot for me,” she said. “You go into a hospice with a vision of what you expect it to be, but it didn’t feel like a sad place, it was nice and pleasant, airy, bright, and everyone seemed happy there.

“I’m really pleased with my time yesterday – I’m quite achy today! It was worth all the effort of the training though, and although when I finished yesterday I thought I’m not doing this again, I’m already changing my mind and thinking about doing it next year.”

Ben Jeveons, 36, from Ingatestone, finished in 3 hours 55 minutes.

Ben turned The Plough, Mountnessing, into a hive of fundraising activity as he prepared for the 26.2 mile race. As well as holding a number of gigs at the pub, Ben has asked diners to donate £1 per head to the Havering-atte-Bower based charity. 

Ben decided to support his local hospice, after he visited the hospice to find out more.

He said: “I’ll admit that I was so apprehensive about how I would feel about a visit I put it off. I couldn’t have been more wrong about the place and felt embarrassed that I was letting my feelings of apprehension have an effect on those dealing with more than I have ever had to deal with.

“My overwhelming feeling was that people who are at Saint Francis Hospice are helped to come to terms with what is happening to them and their loved ones by such an amazing team of people - that my running for a few hours on a Sunday morning in April is nothing compared to what these people do.
 
“Another thing that amazed me about my visit was being told that the government gives Saint Francis Hospice a third of their running costs. To run the hospice each year costs £7.4m.
 
“Imagine having a business where at the start of each year you had to find £5m just to keep going. You wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it.  And yet these people do it every year. Not for profit but to help people who need it. Amazing.”

“It was a fantastic day on Sunday, I’m so pleased I did it. The first 13 miles went really well, but I struggled with the next 13. However, the crowd were really supportive, and when I saw all the hospice staff  it really reminded me why I was doing it. I’ll definitely be applying to do it for the hospice next year.”

Brentwood runner Alan Lamont, 40 from Wyatts Green, ran his first marathon in memory of both his aunty and a close family friend who were cared for by the hospice. He completed the race in 4 hours 31 minutes.

He said: “It was a great day, and I’m really pleased with my time. The last five miles were killer, but you start thinking about the reason you’re doing it and the money people have sponsored, and along with the crowds calling your name out you keep pushing on. It was amazing, I loved it, and I think I’ll do it again next year.

“If I’m going to run the marathon it’s for a good cause,” he said. “Saint Francis Hospice really did help out our families, they treat patients with such dignity and provide such support. We wouldn’t have been able to cope without them, so I have huge respect for all the staff and all of the work they do.”

Hospice fundraiser Lauren Josman said: “We were thrilled that so many runners signed up to the marathon to raise money for the hospice. It’s such a big physical challenge to take on, and the total that they’ve fundraised is amazing. I hope they all really enjoyed the day. We were standing at mile 23 dressed in bright orange and cheering loudly as they passed. We depend on community support to help us raise the £7.2 million needed this year alone to provide our specialist care and support to people living with a life limiting illness, so we’d like to thank them all for their effort and support.”

 

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