The Virgin Money London Marathon – Sunday, April 26

Over 40,000 people run The Virgin Money London Marathon, one of the most famous fundraising events of the year. The popularity of the marathon is such that the only way to secure a place at the start line is by entering your name in a ballot. The ballots are now closed but it is still possible to take part in the event by directly signing up with a charity. The Sussex Beacon Team, which supports people living with HIV, is one such charity. 

The Sussex Beacon Team

The Sussex Beacon charity aims to improve the life of people living with HIV. They provide specialist care, work closely with health providers to ensure people have access to healthcare, and help people gain more independence. Fundraising activities are one of the means the charity has for generating funds that allow them to keep helping people. Since 2017, 12 runners finished The Virgin Money Marathon and together they have raised more than 15,000 pounds for the charity. The charity asks each person that decides to sign up to run with their team to raise at least 1,500 pounds. If this is too high a challenge, it is possible to run for half marathons or smaller marathons with The Sussex Beacon Team where the fundraising sum is not as high. 

The Marathon

With a record of 414,168 people entering their name in the ballot to run in 2019, the size of The Virgin Money London Marathon is not to be underestimated. The sheer amount of people applying to enter the run means that not everyone will get a chance to run. Nevertheless, there are other ways of enjoying the day and showing support. Rooting for the runners or volunteering to help on the day can be alternative ways to engage with the event. There will be no shortage of fun on the day and the historic route of the run will provide glimpses of some of London’s most beautiful landmarks. One important thing to keep in mind is that it is never too late to start training for the next marathon.

The Virgin Money Marathon is taking the necessary steps to become more and more sustainable. In 2019, there were new running belts designs made of 90% recycled materials. The organisers of the event also decreased the number of drink stalls to minimise waste and introduced compostable cups for the Lucozade stands. Additional implementations have been set up for the 2020 marathon to increase the sustainability of the event. 

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