Charities wish their runners well in 36th Virgin Money London Marathon
Howard Lake | 24 April 2016 | News
Charities have wished their runners well in today’s Virgin Money London Marathon, the 36th year that the world’s biggest one-day fundraising event has been run.
This year’s theme is #oneinamillion, because at today’s race, the one millionth runner to take part in a London Marathon will cross the finishing line. Participants who were one of this first million have been able to buy the t-shirt to claim their status. Watch them put their finger in the air as they cross the finish line to signify this status.
British ESA astronaut and digital marathon runner Tim Peake was the official race starter this year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEiUSDho7rn/?taken-by=londonmarathon
Total number of runners
The numbers are in, they have been verified and we can now reveal how many runners have registered for tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/uB8y947WF2
— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 23, 2016
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Virgin Money Giving is encouraging supporters to track friends and family taking part and to share their messages of support with the official event hashtags of #LondonMarathon and #oneinamillion.
https://twitter.com/VMGiving/status/724121205813481472
https://twitter.com/VMGiving/status/724120558712008705
Charities wishing their runners good luck
Plenty of charities have posted encouragement to their teams of runners this morning.
Let's do this #TeamSFH. pic.twitter.com/gsf8kTe7jP
— Saint Francis Hospice (@SFHUK) April 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/oxfamgb/status/724119476820664320
It's the biggest & best fundraising day of the year! @AnthonyNolan Fundraising Team: £600k in a day? Let's do it. 👊
— Catherine Miles (@Cadders68) April 24, 2016
A HUGE good luck to every single one of our #LondonMarathon @TeamCLICSargent superstars. You're doing a great thing. pic.twitter.com/oGyb26c9UA
— Young Lives vs Cancer (@YLvsCancer) April 24, 2016
Good luck and thank you to all those running #LondonMarathon for @Childrens_Trust today. Truly awesome heroes.
— John Tranter (@johntranter99) April 24, 2016
Ready to cheer our #LondonMarathon runners?
Follow them here https://t.co/aWoYADLwMQ #MSSuperstars #MSSuperheroes pic.twitter.com/hQ6m0FKyl7— MS Society UK (@mssocietyuk) April 24, 2016
Best of luck to Team Hospice UK! You're fab, and we'll be cheering for you! #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/tKWh1aIMKl
— Hospice UK (@hospiceuk) April 24, 2016
Gd luck to the 35 runners who are taking on 26.2 miles in the @LondonMarathon for #TeamDemelza watch out for those red & white dotty vests!
— Demelza Charity (@DemelzaCharity) April 24, 2016
Good luck to the #LondonMarathon runners. Did you know Mexican Free-Tailed Bat can reach speeds of 40-60mph https://t.co/8WKJPpPO5R
— Bat Conservation Trust (@_BCT_) April 24, 2016
Today is the day! GOOD LUCK #TeamMencap! #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/e2vcT8UoEo
— Mencap (@mencap_charity) April 24, 2016
Wishing our brave #TeamVariety runners the best of luck today at the #LondonMarathon! You can do it! pic.twitter.com/GuRU3Y2aTv
— Variety, the Children’s Charity (@VarietyGB) April 24, 2016
Good morning and good luck to our amazing #TeamShelter runners in today's #LondonMarathon hoping to raise £450,000 pic.twitter.com/9eth2jZZMm
— Shelter (@Shelter) April 24, 2016
It’s not just events teams cheering them on. Here’s an encouraging tweet from a charity CEO:
https://twitter.com/markflannceo/status/724150413533020161
And another:
Love this! Go, go #TeamTeenageCancer #LondonMarathon https://t.co/hUGxg4J8ys
— Kate Collins (@KateCollinsUK) April 24, 2016
In wishing runners luck, there’s always an opportunity to invite more people to show their support by donating:
Support our #LondonMarathon runners today by texting HERO to 70660 to donate £3. T&Cs: https://t.co/y069yeGCmv pic.twitter.com/DgoVy74ah4
— Breast Cancer Now (@BCCare) April 24, 2016
Support from others
Organisers and others are offering to give public support for particular runners.
@LondonMarathon Can we get a #oneinamillion shout out for the 570+ runners who are part of #TeamWhizzKidz supporting disabled young people?
— Whizz Kidz (@WhizzKidz) April 24, 2016
Becky's running for @FintansFund in memory of Fintan – https://t.co/iPZ5EcPBVy #PoweredByPeople #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/YPnanfHPLT
— JustGiving (@JustGiving) April 24, 2016
Support for individuals
Other charities are highlighting individual runners who are raising funds for them this morning.
On your marks! Cat is running the @LondonMarathon for GamesAid. Donate: https://t.co/PhHsKXfjhJ pic.twitter.com/thlhdopYks
— Games Aid (@GamesAid) April 24, 2016
The banana is on his way – come on @teamRLSB pic.twitter.com/omyaLjMNEY
— Lizzie Haigh-Reeve (@lizhaighreeve) April 24, 2016
And recognition for individual volunteers too:
Brian one our favourite knitters is at our cheering point at Embankment (he also makes Macminions) #VLM2016 https://t.co/wqsQNv8FoV
— Macmillan Cancer Support (@macmillancancer) April 24, 2016
More London Marathon fundraising
Twitter emojis are in evidence too this year.
#TeamWhizzKidz 🎽 https://t.co/2jrB17aOI5
— Whizz Kidz (@WhizzKidz) April 24, 2016
Happy #LondonMarathon morning everyone – we'll see all you runners soon! 😀💙 #TeamMND
— MND Association (@mndassoc) April 24, 2016
Good luck to all the #LondonMarathon runners! Look out for the Starlight cheer points at mile 15 & 26 🌟🌟🌟 pic.twitter.com/lgsseisJx6
— Starlight (@starlight_uk) April 24, 2016
Save the Children UK has explained why people choose to take part in the London Marathon to raise funds:
There's more than one reason to run. Thank you to every incredible supporter running the #LondonMarathon tomorrow! https://t.co/qQ8yALGvo4
— Save the Children UK (@savechildrenuk) April 23, 2016
If some of your work is about to be viewed by TV viewers around the world, it makes sense to let people know:
Best of luck to @LondonMarathon runners. Lots of HLF-supported heritage to look at en route, including @CuttySark pic.twitter.com/l7vyQcjHGc
— The National Lottery Heritage Fund (@HeritageFundUK) April 24, 2016
If running isn’t your thing, then the BBC shares details of how you can get involved in charity events as a volunteer:
Could you #DoSomethingGreat and volunteer at an event like the #LondonMarathon? https://t.co/AV43TfcQvn pic.twitter.com/bBLto12Goe
— BBC (@BBC) April 24, 2016
Great atmosphere at #LondonMarathon! pic.twitter.com/lpdcYJyGkJ
— Kirsty Marrins (she/her) | Copywriter (@LondonKirsty) April 24, 2016
Here’s a nod to the very first London Marathon in 1981:
Still inspires: for 1st #LondonMarathon 1981 Dick Beardsley & Inge Simonsen clasped hands to finish as joint winners pic.twitter.com/0siURTQrec
— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) April 24, 2016
And we simply like this tweet from JustGiving:
Conscientious monkeys or #LondonMarathon runners on the loose? pic.twitter.com/0hgIuuapqV
— JustGiving (@JustGiving) April 24, 2016
More fundraising today
There’s more exertion going on today to raise funds for charities, including the Kiltwalk in Scotland:
Here we go…. pic.twitter.com/urNezGuN9o
— Kiltwalk (@thekiltwalk) April 24, 2016
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.