17th April 2011
Congratulations and a huge “thank you” to all who ran the 2011 Virgin London Marathon in aid of CRY, on Sunday 17th April 2011. Taking part in the biggest fundraising event on the planet is no mean feat, and we are in awe of every one of you for your outstanding efforts to raise awareness and funds for CRY.
This year we had a team of 114 CRY runners amongst the 35,000 participants – of whom 34 ran with their own ballot or media place, including CRY Patron, Bill Neely, who completed the race in an impressive 3 hours and 9 minutes!
We were very grateful for the additional places donated to us by Professor Sanjay Sharma and Virgin Money Giving which helped to increase the size of our team. Everyone seemed to enjoy another fantastic race day.
It was a hazy start to the day, but by the time the race started at 9.45am the sun was starting to heat up, making the next 26.2 miles a real challenge for all of our runners.
As temperatures reached 19 degrees Celsius, running the course was particularly tough for our 7 brave Heart Costume runners.
It was an exciting and truly incredible atmosphere once again, at an event which we are delighted to be a part of.
At 8.15am CRY staff Lottie MacKenzie and Ben Robinson headed to the Red Start, whilst Becci Upson was at the Green Start, to meet our runners and wish them all good luck. Thank you to everyone who came to say hello.
As our runners gradually crossed the start line to begin their race, the suite at the Hilton Hotel, Green Park was being set up with massage couches and decorated with CRY banners, flags, bunting, and displays by CRY staff Lily Burke, Tony Hill, Lottie MacKenzie, Laura Murzell, Matt Oliver, Ben Robinson, Becci Upson and Rebecca Zouvani.
Volunteers Tim Collie, Barbara and Jim Holland and Patricia Thornton were a great help and made the suite look very welcoming in preparation for our runners.
Volunteers Abbie Cowie, The Desai family, The Kelly family and Steve Jackson, kindly cheered all of our runners on at miles 18 and 23 and gave them the extra boost they needed to keep going.
Chris, Katy and Lucy Turberville, and Bob and Carol Finch – also volunteers – were ready and waiting with friendly faces at the finish area in Waterloo Place to help our runners with those final few steps and offer them a seat, cool drink and a snack whilst they waited for the CRY shuttle service.
CRY staff Tony Hill and Matt Oliver then collected our tired runners from the finish area and whisked them back to the hotel in minibus shuttles, where we were waiting to thank and congratulate them. Volunteers Sophie Bates and Gareth Rowlands warmly greeted each of our runners outside the hotel, and welcomed them to our reception.
The first CRY runner to finish was Jack Kelly (above left) in an incredible time of 2.54:31; and the first CRY runner back to the hotel was Gordon Tanner (below right) who finished in 2.59:55. Well done Jack and Gordon on your fantastic sub 3-hour times!
Slowly, more and more runners came back, each receiving a well deserved round of applause from staff and volunteers before being photographed by volunteer Julien Upson.
In due course the room was full of exhausted but elated runners and proud friends and family sharing the highs and lows of the day.
After being checked-in by volunteers Barbara and Jim Holland, who kept things running smoothly, each runner was interviewed by either Alison Cox MBE (Chief Executive and Founder of CRY) or CRY staff Lottie MacKenzie, Laura Murzell, Becci Upson and Rebecca Zouvani.
They were then hastily sent over to our wonderful massage team, with a drink in hand, to relieve their aching muscles.
A huge “thank you” to our volunteer massage therapists Hannah Baldock, Yvonne Cheung, Ellie Denton, Emma Gibson, Juliet Hilton, Helen Joannou, Emily Kendrick, Joseph MacGregor, John Naughton, Shelley Parker, Abigail Restorick, Rakhee Shah and Sabena Williams – your skills were greatly needed and much appreciated by all of our runners who came to the hotel, and had been looking forward to a massage very eagerly!
After their soothing massage, Lily Burke, Tim Collie and Pat Thornton showed our runners to the bedrooms which had been reserved for showers. Everyone seemed to feel much better after a hot shower and change of clothes!
Thank you so much to the 56 runners who came to the hotel to meet us, despite feeling emotionally and physically exhausted; and to all of our volunteers. It was a challenging day for everyone, and especially difficult for those who were running in memory of someone. It was lovely to meet so many of our runners’ friends, family members and supporters too, all of whom were rightfully extremely proud of them.
We are grateful to all who have sent in photographs from the day. If you haven’t already then please do send any photos you have to [email protected] – we will include as many as possible on the CRY website. Volunteers Mark Wibberley, Julien Upson, Gareth Rowlands and Sophie Bates did a wonderful job in taking photos of CRY runners on the course and back at the hotel, and managed to get a smile out of everyone!
Thank you also to the Hilton Hotel, Green Park, for once again hosting our post-event facilities. The thought of a shower kept many of our runners going for those last few miles.
Once again, we would like to thank each and every runner for their huge efforts in completing the marathon and fundraising for CRY. Your time, effort and valued support are truly appreciated. Well done, you’ve all earned a rest!
The CRY Fundraising Team
