A big thank you from Cherry Lodge Cancer Care to our five runners in the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon, held on Sunday 3rd October 2021. It was wonderful to see the Marathon Mass Event return to the streets of London following last year’s cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic. In normal times, the London Marathon has provided Cherry Lodge and thousands of other charities with a great fundraising opportunity – and this year, thankfully, is no exception.
Our runners experienced mixed fortunes but all of them finished this very demanding race. Running 26.2 miles, especially in the middle of a huge crowd, is no mean feat! Doing so to raise money for a charity like Cherry Lodge makes their effort especially worthwhile. There is still time to help our runners support Cherry Lodge. Clicking on the names in blue, below, will take you to these runners’ fundraising pages. Alternatively, you can donate directly to Cherry Lodge (please contact Tina on 020 8441 7000 or email tina@cherrylodgecancercare.org.uk) or to a runner (Ausaf Khan does not have a fundraising page but makes regular donations to Cherry Lodge).
Fastest home of our runners was Christopher Travis in a very creditable 3 hours 11 minutes, followed by Ausaf Khan in 3 hours 40 minutes. The results of other runners are noteworthy in different ways. Richard Stock put in a time of 5 hours 39 mins, which he described, quite rightly, as ‘not bad for a 65 year old’, coming in ‘approximately 30,000th out of 40,000 starters!’. We are waiting for a post race report from Megan Jones.
Coralie Masters-Hill, an experienced runner who has run this event for us in the past, was still hoping for a personal best after 8 miles. She then suffered a catastrophe, described here in her own words: ‘Chap in front of me lobbed his water bottle right into my path and, unable to alter my stride in time, I trod on it, causing me to skid and save myself. I felt a burning sensation in my hip, but I decided to carry on – which was my first mistake. I jeffed it for another 8 miles, until I could bear it no more, then I’m afraid I had to walk the next 10. At Buckingham Palace, with the famous 385 yards to go, I decided to jog in (my second mistake) and crossed the finish line with a massive smile of relief on my face, while simultaneously sobbing with pain, in an embarassing time of 8 hours 2 minutes.’ Coralie, we praise you for your fortitude – and hope that you will make a speedy recovery.
By 5th October, our runners had between them raised almost £6,000. If you have not already done so, please support them (and Cherry Lodge Cancer Care) as generously as you can.
Cherry Lodge also praises the brilliant achievement of one of our members, Ann-Marie Wilson (fundraising for North London Hospice, accompanied by Angie Cavallari), who tells us: ‘We have just smashed our biggest challenge ever…. a 26.2 mile walking marathon on 3 October in under 23 hrs & 59 mins for prized London Marathon medals! We managed in well under 10 hours, and no wheelchair assistance!’
Click on the small images below to enlarge our photos of: Chris; Ausaf; Coralie; and Ann-Marie.
