Five Newark men raise over £12,500 Motor Neurone Disease Association by running the London Marathon
Five friends have completed the London Marathon, and in the process raised more than £12,500 for charity.
On Sunday, April 27, Simon Adshead, alongside Bob Briggs-Price, Garry Fell, Steven Clewer, and Sam Ward, pushed their bodied to the limit, running 26.2 miles through the street of the capital in support of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The cause is one close to their hearts, as many of them have had family members or friends who were diagnosed with the disease which limits mobility and has a short life expectancy.
Together, they raised managed to smash their fundraising goal and pulled together £12,711 in donations from more than 230 supporters.
“Well we made it to our fundraising target and finished the course, both were tough,” said Simon.
“A huge thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising efforts, we are over the moon to have reached such a big target.”
The charity also put on a special race event with food, drink and massages for the runners, and helped everyone start to recover.
The race itself set a new Guinness world record for the most finishers in a marathon with over 56,600 runners a new Guinness world record, meaning their was a lot of support on the streets.
“What an event, what a weekend,” said Simon.
“The crowds were awe-inspiring. Noise the whole way round, cheering our names and encouraging us when all we wanted to do was stop running.
“It was great to see our families on the sidelines cheering us on with hand made posters and jelly babies. It brings a tear to your eye, and again motivated you to keep running.”
He added: “All 5 of us struggled with something.
“Bad backs and knees all holding us back from our desired times, except for Sam Ward who managed an amazing 3.50.10.
“I hobbled around in 4.47.40, Gary and Bob managed 4.53.17, and Steven completed in 5.12.10.
“We have all hung up our marathon running shoes… well don't ask for another ten years at least.”
