The Virgin Money London Marathon 2019 takes place on Sunday of this weekend and NCM’s own Tom Cook will be taking his place among the forty thousand participants to take on the distance. It will be Tom’s first ever marathon and after getting a surprise successful entry in the ballot has put in over 200 miles in training since December. Wanting to support a local smaller charity, Tom will be running in aid of Radio Lollipop Edinburgh who are a charity operating in hospitals providing care, comfort and play to children and their families. They aim to combine music and play from its studio's with play activities on the wards to improve the experience of children’s stay in hospitals. Tom has set the ambitious fund raising target of £1000 in support of this aim.
NCM wish Tom all the best this weekend!
Radio Lollipop (UK) Limited. Registered Charity In England and Wales No. 280817
https://www.radiolollipop.org/
Tom’s fund raising page
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thomas-cook061
Did you know?
- The 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi) course was first sponsored by Gillette (1981-1983) and subsequently Mars (1984–1988), ADT (1989–1992), NutraSweet (1993–1995), and Flora (1996–2009) before Virgin Money in 2010.
- Prize money for both the men’s and women’s elite races in 2018 was £39,000 for first place, £22,000 for second place and £16,000 for third (down to £1000 for twelfth).
- A small number of runners, known as the "Ever Presents", have completed each of the London Marathons since 1981. After 2018 their number has shrunk to 11.
- The 2018 marathon raised a record £63.7 million for charity. The total is more than £2 million over the previous year's total, and sets a new world record for an annual single day charity fundraising event for a twelfth successive year.
- You have to be 18 years old to enter the main race and the oldest person ever to complete the race was 87 years old (in 8 hours and 21 minutes).
- The London Marathon is just one of the world's six Marathon Majors alongside Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, New York and Berlin.