Ahead of what is one of the biggest sporting events in the calendar, Time 107.5 has spoken to some of those from the local area who are running for charity.
Click on their names to view their fundraising pages.
Jodie Rose, a teacher from Barking, is running to raise money for the Miscarriage Association.
She told Time 107.5: “I chose this charity because it’s close to my heart. My husband and I have two beautiful children but we struggled to conceive them and the Miscarriage Association was a charity that really stepped up for us in our darkest hour.”
Jodie says running the marathon has always been on her bucket list.
“Last year, unfortunately, I lost my dad very suddenly. He was only 62 and it really made me realise that life is short and if I wanted to take up the challenge, now was the time.”
Jodie Rose is running for the Miscarriage Association.
Sarah O’Shea, from Romford, is raising money for two charities.
The first is Brentwood-based Snap, which helps children with disabilities and special needs and their families.
“I go along to a lot of their events because my son Logan has high functioning autism,” she told Time 107.5. “Although he’s never actually been there, I’ve got a lot of support from them.”
Sarah is also raising money for the Child Growth Foundation, which helps families with children that have growth deficiencies.
Sarah O’Shea will be running a marathon for the first time.
Adrian Brazier, from Dagenham, is raising money for Sense, a charity which helps deaf and blind people.
“It provides support through various programmes,” Adrian explains. “It provides educational tools and respite for parents of young children who are deaf and blind and also adults who are deaf and blind to get away from it all and also integrates them with other families and communities.”
Adrian says he found out about the charity from a partially-sighted friend.
Ben Whateley-Harris, from Brentwood, is running for Saint Francis Hospice, which cared for his dad before he passed away 21 years ago.
“Not a day goes by where I don’t remember the care and attention he got from all the staff there,” Ben said. “I want to raise as much money for a really good charity, a charity close to my heart, a charity that helps many people in Essex and east London and that will continue to do so for many years to come.”
Ben, a firefighter, is a member of the Brentwood Running Club and recently ran a half-marathon while dressed as a fish finger.
Ben ran the Brentwood half marathon last month dressed as a fish finger.
Tina Leung, from Shenfield, is part of the same running club as Ben and is also raising money for Saint Francis Hospice.
The 69-year-old will be taking part in her tenth marathon and said: “It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you run. The running helps you be fit and mobile and it’s really good exercise for everybody.
“I have never had any personal contact with Saint Francis Hospice but I have heard a lot of praise for them.”
Tina Leung is taking part in her tenth marathon.
James Plumer, of Romford, will be running to raise money for Saint Francis Hospice too.
His dad was cared for at the hospice in Havering-atte-Bower before he passed away.
James, 37, is a housing officer at Havering Council.
He said: “It’s an organisation that does fantastic work for families and patients when they’re nearing the end of their lives.
“My father died of cancer about four years ago. He received a lot of care from the hospice; he passed away in the hospice.
“They’ve been close to our hearts ever since, we’ve always looked out for them. I got my marathon place through the ballot and I thought here’s a chance to raise some money for the hospice.”
James Plumer is running for Saint Francis Hospice after they cared for his father.
Sara Leigh, 40, is raising money for Haven House, a children’s hospice in Woodford Green.
“This is all part of the midlife crisis that I’ve decided to run the London Marathon 2019,” said Sara, from Hainault. “Haven House is a charity very much involved in our community, everybody is aware of Haven House and unfortunately I know some families that have had to use Haven House and it has helped them immensely.”
Sara decided to run the marathon as part of her “mid-life crisis”.
Peter Phillips lives in Barking and is running the London Marathon to raise money for The Children’s Society.
“I am running for them in order to help the charity support children who are sexually exploited, living in care and those who run away from home,” said Peter, who works for Citizens Advice Bureau. “The Children’s Society is a charity very close to my heart. I live in Barking and growing up I did experience personal difficulty.
“Without this charity, I could have gone the wrong way so running for The Children’s Society is a way for me to say thank you again to those who have helped me.”
Peter Phillips is running for The Children’s Society.
Mark Dalby, from Romford, is raising money for Cancer Research UK after losing his partner, Sarah, almost 18 months ago.
“In 2017 my girlfriend of 17 years passed away with bowel cancer and I just want to raise money to stop anyone else from having to go through what me and the family went through,” said Mark, who works for Havering Council. “All the money goes to researching cancer. One in two people are affected by cancer in their life and it’s so important to raise money to help cure, find reasons for it, to stop it happening.”
Mark is running to raise money for Cancer Research UK after his girlfriend Sarah passed away from bowel cancer.
This week’s Time 107.5 Sport Show is a marathon special, during which we will hear from many of those listed above as well as Sue Colville, a runner from Chadwell Heath who has completed 43 marathons, as well as two 50km runs.
Listen in on Thursday 7-8pm.
Good luck to everyone running the London Marathon this Sunday.
Tags: Havering, Redbridge, Charity, Barking and Dagenham, London Marathon
