We were delighted to have 25 people taking part in the London Marathon this year and we really wanted to be there, by their side, to support our fantastic runners this year.

 

For me, working in Events and Supporter Care in the charity, this meant supporting them from the beginning through all their various training plans, helping them with their fundraising pages and being on hand whenever they needed it.

 

It was extraordinary to share the runners’ journeys, hear their personal stories about why they were taking part, and keep in touch throughout the whole process. I just loved it when they shared updates and pictures with me throughout the journey leading up to the big day and on the run itself. 

 

The atmosphere at the event was almost breath-taking, being in the Mall right next to Buckingham Palace, and spotting various celebs,  I loved seeing all of our runners and holding out our sign for them to ‘power up’ as they headed towards the finish line.

 

It was so special when we saw our runners – and they saw us. I’ll never forget Christian, a local Primary School Headteacher spotting us in our box  - cheering him along – he gave a little dance!

We also loved seeing the huge range of other charity runners, especially the ones who had dressed up.

 

And all day our phones kept pinging with messages and photos from our runners, the night before, gearing up to start and after they crossed the finish line with their medals - with pure joy they had done something so special.

 

The amount our runners have raised for our charity is wonderful, over £60,000 already. Will they make it to a record-breaking £65,000?

 

They are such an inspiration to us, across our hospitals and to those in their local communities and the amount of awareness and funds raised for our hospitals will help so much across all our hospitals.

 

I hadn’t been to London in over 20 years – so coming to this event was a big deal for me,  and seeing the major changes across the city was fantastic.

 

I really enjoyed looking around London as well and seeing all the sites,  with the help of my colleagues, Donna and Will, who were almost being my tour guide – helping me understand the London Underground and how all the colours and tube stations work, to trying my very first Katsu curry!

 

It was a magical day – unforgettable, and I feel like a bit of a proud mum as all our runners completed the course and did so well.

 

I am very much looking forward to next year!

Check out my mini vlog here