Today the 3rd of October is the day of the Virgin Money London Marathon, this amazing event which unites runners from across the nation to participate in friendly competition, achievement and together raise millions of pounds for charity.
Around fifty thousand runners are said to take part in the marathon this year and thousands of others are taking on the extraordinary challenge of 26 miles on a route of their choice across the country.
How does the marathon help so many people?
The Virgin Money London Marathon is the biggest mass participation single day fundraisers for charities.
Last year due to Covid and this marathon not taking place, instead the 2.6 challenge was introduced by organisers of mass fundraising events. This combined with the virtual Virgin Money London Marathon and other events hosted by them raised fifty million pounds for charity.
Also, in 2020 around 4000 charities benefited from the money raised which was extremely helpful due to the loss of an estimated £10 billion in revenue due to Covid at a time when they were needed.
In 2019 a total of £66.4 million pounds was raised for charity - this was the largest amount raised from the event!
How could you support the marathon?
You don’t have to be able to run 26 miles in order to help support the Virgin Money London Marathon raise money for charities. Here are some ways you can support the day…
Donate to people running for the Virgin Money London Marathon, this can be done through friends or on a Facebook page.
Do some fundraising of your own – during this time of such fundraising spirit you could do some fundraising for a charity of your choice too (you could even run 2.6 miles instead of 26!)
Make a donation to a charity of your choice
Follow the Virgin Money London Marathon on Twitter and keep updated with the action / retweet your support for runners
“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.” – Fred Lebow – New York City Marathon co-founder
Thank you again,
Best wishes
Harriet