On Sunday 17 April, 17 Zurich runners took part in the most famous Marathon on earth, the Virgin London Marathon. Each runner, in addition to running 26.2 miles, was also tasked to raise a minimum of £1,000 for Zurich Community Trust (Zurich Cares).
Click on their names for their stories it's not too late to sponsor them!). Have a look at the photo gallery or click to view the brief slideshow. Here they are and well done again!
Adrian Quinton, Alex Bramley, Ankeet Patel, Ben Platts, Beth Bray, Chris Woodward, Graham Baker, Ian Long, Irfon Owen, Janine Bowler, Lisa Willingham, Mark Martindale, Marc Williams, Neil Richardson, Simon Freeman, Soheil Abolghassem and Steve Whitcombe.
Adrian Quinton, IT Service Delivery, Swindon "Everybody has their own special experiences and memories of running the London marathon. For me the run was fantastic from the start completing the first 16 miles quite comfortably but the last ten were a different story with lots of running and a bit of walking too. This pulled down my time considerably, but I was more than happy with 4:44 for my first marathon. I was convinced I would end my marathon career with retirement from the distance at around 14:30 that afternoon, but I can easily see myself being tempted to run again next year. My personal highlights from the race were over taking Santa and a couple of Rhinos, but Scooby Doo was just a little too fast for me! Coming down the Mall towards the finish is an experience I will never forget! I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored me and for your overwelming generosity. The total raised to date is just over £2000 including gift aid." See Adrian's page.
Alex Bramley, Global Business Services, Cardiff also took part. Before the race he said: "Just reading about some of the fabulous work the Zurich Community Trust has done will hopefully carry me over the last few tough miles of the course. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my link. No amount is too big or small and all sponsors will just add to my motivation to complete the race. See Alex's page.
Ankeet Patel, Graduate Assistant Market Underwriter C&SO, Farnborough. "A special mention to Beth and Graham who I ran the last few miles with. You helped get me through the tough bits! I came in at 4:25:24, which I'm pleased about considering how hot it was!!" See Ankeet's page.
Ben Platts, Project Manager, BC&IT. "Thank you so much for your support and kind donations for the 2011 London Marathon. It was the most incredible day. The event was extremely well organised, the crowd was fantastic and I managed to finish the race without any injuries, too many cuts or bruises. The weather felt unbearably hot at times and the last 4 miles were incredibly painful.
I finished in a pleasing 3:31:42 & raised £1,424.47 for Zurich Cares. My time wasn’t good enough to beat James Cracknell or Nell McAndrew but I did beat Michel Roux Jnr, Will Young and I came in 14 seconds quicker than Dwight Yorke! I would recommend the experience to everyone, however be warned...it's going to hurt! Thank you again for your support. Here's my blog and take a look at my donation page ."
Beth Bray, Leeds. "First of all I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone that sponsored me and supported me both before and after the event. My day started off well and I seemed to be the master of the underground before I knew it. The nerves soon turned into excitement when I joined the thousands of other runners making our way slowly to the start and I joined in waving to the cameras (I did get on TV too. I was the shorty stood near a womble). I started off well and found it comfortable up to mile 19/20, enjoying the atmosphere and the weather. Then disaster I went over on my ankle. Determined to complete and knowing that if I stopped I was very likely not to get going again I pushed on.
The crowd were fantastic at this point and counting down the miles I pushed harder to the end. A big help was meeting Ankeet (another Zurich runner) at this point too and he really motivated me and helped me forget about the miles ahead whilst we ran together for a couple of miles. Coming down the Mall was a fantastic experience that I will never forget. I loved everything about the day. I finished in a respectable 4 hours 20 minutes and 32 seconds. I had no real problems with my legs and recovered quickly but I am still hobbling around with my sprained ankle that I am sure will take a little longer to recover. But hopefully over the Easter break I will be back to running a preparing for next year. Hopefully with a little more planning a little more dedicated training I would hope to finish under the 4 hour mark." See Beth's page.
Thank you also to Chris Woodward, ZIG Sales, Southern Counties. Chris said before the race: "I have been with Zurich for 2 years in a sales role at Home Counties. I am 47 and have run the LM once in in 1997 time was 3.45. I have done all my training on a treadmill and have recently completed the Adidas 1/2 Marathon in 1.47. I hope to complete the LM in 4 hours." Visit Chris's page.
Although Graham Baker, Legal, Swindon, has been a keen runner for around eight years, and has done lots of half-Marathons, this was his frist full Marathon. Before the race, Graham said: "I was delighted to secure a place in this year’s Zurich Cares team and have the opportunity to raise funds for the very worthwhile causes we support, while fulfilling a long-held ambition to run the London Marathon. I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for their support to date!" See Graham's page.
Ian Long, Head of Transformation, GCUK, London. Ian's third Marathon. "LATEST UPDATE - I DID IT! The race did not quite go to plan, admittedly. It was a lovely day, but warmed up early. I felt really good for the first half, and (I thought) managed to temper my pace and stay on target. Unfortunately the wheels came off slightly in the second half, with a stitch followed by a series of calf cramps. I kept moving though (even if the official photos only show me walking!) and finished in 3:58:04 after another incredible day. As an ambassador for Zurich Cares I get to see a lot of the fabulous work that the Trust does, so am delighted to do my bit." See Ian's page.
Irfon Owen, Actuary, Swindon. "It's going to take a few more days to get over the aches and pains and to feel close to "normal" again, but it was such a great experience. The day itself didn't start too great for me, having woken up before 4am and later being squeezed up against dozens of other runners standing on a train for about 40mins on the way to the start. Once I go to the start however, I began to relax a bit more and enjoyed the fact that I was actually there at the start line and going to take part in the race.
The race itself was even tougher than I had expected and with the high temperatures I found it hard going much earlier than I had hoped. Thankfully I was able to spot my family amongst the crowds on a few occasions which gave me a lift and was also given a few words of encouragement by a fellow Zurich runner along the way (Thanks Marc!). I crossed the finishing line in a time of 4hrs 47min, delighted at having achieved an ambition of mine. I'd like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has given me support and advice during leading up to the day and for all the interest and comments since Sunday. I would especially like to give thanks for helping me raise funds for the charities supported by Zurich Community Trust. I'm extremely grateful for all the kind donations which will go towards supporting the invaluable work done by our charity partners. Thank you." See Irfon's page.
Janine Bowler, Swindon. "Well, I did it... in 4 hours, 30 mins and 29 secs. I came 16499 out of 35,000 runners! It was hot, hard, but I LOVED every second and the crowds all the way round were just amazing - the shouts of support of WWIILLLLMMMAA!!!! were just what I needed at the tough points. I must have not stopped grinning all the way around. I felt privileged to be a part of one of the worlds greatest sporting events that I (Joe Public!) am allowed to be a part of, and to know every step was getting me closer to securing the £2K (£3K with matching!) in donations for such a great cause, kept me going. I crossed the finish line elated and emotional, telling myself I won't do it again, but you can never say never can you? Thanks ZCT for such an amazing opportunity, and thanks to everyone who supported me. It's something I will never forget." See Janine's page.
Lisa Willingham, Capita, Swindon. "This is my second year running for the Zurich Community Trust and feel very lucky to be given this chance again. It is an amazing experience. I am not the fastest of runners and when I completed it last year I had never ran a 5k race let alone a full marathon! This year was easier in some ways, but harder in others - the heat being one! The sun was blazing! However I can't complain as I would much rather slightly too warm than torrential rain! I managed to beat my time by 25 minutes which I am very pleased with finishing in 5hrs 34 minutes. I got quite emotional on several occasions, just looking around and seeing such good in human nature, from all the charity runners raising millions for good causes to the non stop passion and enthusiasm of the crowd. My legs hurt, my chest and back are scarred and I have a few small blisters.
Two days later I'm still walking slightly funny, and avoiding stairs wherever possible, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I can remember the agony from the last few miles, thinking my legs won't work anymore but the sense of achievement makes it all worth it, knowing that I have helped in a small way by raising money for some fantastic charities. My friends who couldn't make it to London, meeting me and my partner on the platform at Swindon train station with a big well done banner (made out of a bed sheet!) and party poppers finished off a wonderful day I will never forget!" See Lisa's page.
Mark Martindale, Fareham. "I would like to thank everyone who sponsored me to run in this year's marathon. As ever, people have been incredibly generous. My preparation for what was my second London Marathon was not perhaps ideal - to avoid this becoming a list of excuses, all I will say is that training one day a week is not enough! It is fair to say, I was not sure how I would cope, knowing that I had under prepared compared to last time, however, I set myself the goal of finishing and that was achieved. My time was a modest 5 hours 23 minutes, and whilst it was an hour slower than last time, it still feels like an achievement.
I started the race too far forward with people who were looking to finish about two hours quicker than me, so spent the first 5 miles watching people dart past me and wondering if I was actually moving. At 13 miles, I was really suffering from the heat and was captured by the race photographers at Tower Bridge looking very sorry for myself (I won't be buying that picture). From that point on, I started to relax and accept that I was breaking no records and really began to soak up the atmosphere. I would encourage anyone to run the London marathon, it was a great day and a way of raising lots of money for great causes. Will I do it again?...no...maybe...probably..." See Mark's page.
Marc Williams, "Thank you to everyone for the support and generosity you have help raise £1500 (£3000 with matching) for some great causes and gave me the opportunity to experience one of the best moments of my life. I can honestly say I had a blast, the experience for me was fantastic. I had some really difficult moments which I had to dig very deep and I am so pleased to have worked through these to make it to the finish line.
Seeing my wife, relatives and friends at the halfway point was a great boost as was the support from the crowds all the way round. Thanks also to one of the other Zurich runners who gave me words of encouragement when I was going through a tough patch in the heat around the city, sorry I couldn't speak at that point and I didn't catch your name, please let me know as I owe you a beer or three!
I achieved my goals: Raise at at least £1500; Run the whole distance, no walking; Soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the day (mostly, during the head down moments I was oblivious to alll). Finish around 4:30 with a smile - my official time 4:33.54 which is close enough for me and I am pretty sure there was a big grin when I crossed the line Here's to the next challenge... hopefully see you there next year? Ps. Aches, pains, sunburn, blisters and black toenails are all only temporary." See Marc's page.
Neil Richardson, Swindon. "I went up on the morning Saturday with my wife Sally and 3 y.old son Joe and we spent a nice day walking around the Museums looking at rockets and dinosaurs, (I must've covered at least 26.2 miles running around after Joe in the Science museum alone) and apart from a minor incident involving an exploding pot of instant porridge leading to a blocked sink in the hotel everything was going to plan.... The next morning, I set off early and met up with some of the other Zurich runners at the bag drop off point which was great as it calmed the nerves and it was nice to put some faces to names.
We went to our starting pens (you are allocated a pen according to your predicted time) and waited for the gun......I crossed the start line 20 minutes after the official start and I crossed the finish line 4:35.57 later - this was a little off my target time but still one that I'm very pleased with. As the other runners have described the atmosphere was amazing, for me the last 5 miles were probably a little more painful than last year but I knew that stopping wasn't an option (mostly because I knew if I did stop I wouldn't get my legs moving again). It was also a little warmer than 2010 and that was proved by the fact I'd drank at least 10 bottles of either water or Lucozade on the way round and still didn't require a "comfort" break, not until I'd had 2 pints of celebratory Peroni at Paddington on the way home anyway.
Would I do it again?....hmmmm.....bring on 2012! Finally - a massive thank you to everyone for their kinds donations, support and assistance in helping me raise so much money for the Zurich Community Trust - all very much appreciated." See Neil's page.
Simon Freeman, Finance, Swindon also took part, saying before the race: 'When Freeman signed up to the Marathon, did he think it was a chocolate bar?' - The reaction from the majority of my friends when I announced that I would be running the London Marathon! Running the LM has also given me a great opportunity to raise money for Zurich Cares. My Mum works for the Cirencester Opportunity Group, an independent playgroup enabling children with special needs to play and learn with other children. A Zurich Cares challenge team has been there to help out in previous years, the feedback has been brilliant." See Simon's page.
Thank you also to Soheil Abolghassem, Business Analyst, GCUK, London who said "I always thought that running the Marathon was a crazy idea and I still do. Thank you very much for your support." See Soheil's page.
Steve Whitcombe, Claims Handler, Farnborough. "The weather took me by surprise and i regret only training in the evening, but i made it to the finish line. If anyone else did take up the offer of a free shower im sure your all agree with me and Neil that it was the best Shower ever, A massive thanks to Marie Curie for inviting us and allowing us to be part of the post marathon party. I hope all are well and legs aren't aching too much ( like mine... )" Visit Steve's page.
