London Marathon: 14 running in aid of St Clare Hospice
A team of 14 will be tackling the TCS London Marathon for St Clare Hospice.
Eight of the runners on Sunday (April 23) were given Gold Bond places in this year's event by the end-of-life care charity, based at Hastingwood near Harlow, after choosing them from a host of applicants.
Six others chose to run in aid of the hospice after securing their London places in the public ballot.
They have already raised a combined total of more than £17,500.
They include Joe Stapleton, 35, from Thaxted, who ran the Paris Marathon in 2021 for St Clare. He also aims to run the Hackney half-marathon.
He said: "I'm training with the goal of completing London in under three hours five minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon. To achieve this in my second ever marathon might be asking too much, but having such a goal will drive me to put the work in.
"St Clare Hospice provided a support network to my mum as she tackled the day-to-day grief when we lost my dad in early 2021 so it's a charity very close to my heart."
Chris Shaw, 37, from Kedington, Suffolk, who is head of customer services at Takeley's Weston Homes, aims to complete four marathons in two months – having already run the Brighton Marathon and Hampton Court Half.
Like Joe, after London, he will then compete in the Hackney half before the Edinburgh Marathon in May. Chris has already raised over £3,000 in sponsorship.
To support Joe, see https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Joe-Stapleton4. To sponsor Chris, see https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Chris-Shaw46.
The other St Clare runners are Nik Bowerbank, 38, and Victoria Cousins, 49, both from Harlow; Nick Barker, from Epping; Adam Green, 29, from London; Claire Bodiam, 50, from Ongar; Mark Nicholas from St Albans; Anthony Gafney from Braintree; Jo Bird, 63, from Highams Park, Waltham Forest; Karen Ritchie, 57, from Chingford; Shakeel Khan, 52, from Ilford; Catherine Hines and Sam Segameglio.
St Clare Hospice's relationship fundraising manager, Ellie Gale, said: "The sheer commitment of Team St Clare makes us swell with pride – they're so brave and so dedicated to helping raise vital funding to go towards the hospice's care for local people and their families.
"Competing in the London Marathon, a world-famous race renowned for its atmosphere and prestige, is such a special way to support St Clare, as well as being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The fact that our 14 participants have chosen to dedicate this experience to raising funds for St Clare means the world to us."
