- Thank you for supporting our Marathon Man!
Dear Colleagues, Friends, Supporters and Family
My heartfelt thanks for your generosity in supporting me in running the Virgin London Marathon for Youth at Risk. I particularly enjoyed reading your posts on the website and found the personal messages both inspiring and funny! The level of contributions in these tough economic times was simply overwhelming. The fact that we raised £14,500 is a testament to the kindness of all the contributors and the worthiness of the charity.
On a personal note, running a marathon was on my "life" list and I am proud to have accomplished this for a charity I feel represents my life work. It was an exciting and challenging experience. The day started out rainy and cold, but the event was so well managed and there was such excitement in the air that it made things so much better. The crowds were cheering us on the entire way, and at Tower Bridge the crowd was so loud and enthusiastic I started running a sub-eight minute mile pace. I thought to myself, “slow down Mark or you will not be there at the end!”
There were 37,527 runners, of which 36,549 completed the run within 9 hours 15 minutes. My time was 4hrs:29minutes:03 seconds (how precise is that?). I came 18,653 overall, 14,405 in my gender and 1,968 for my age (a state secret). I ran with some world record setters - the tallest giraffe to ever run a marathon - the longest caterpillar (which included Princess Beatrice) - Richard Branson himself - a myriad of Superheroes and a host of other characters. An unforgettable experience.
Thanks again for your support, contribution and friendship!
Mark Charley
