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Marathon runners' big boost for charity
MORE than 35,000 people of all ages, shapes and sizes, many in fancy dress, took part in the 2008 Flora London Marathon - and raised thousands of pounds for scores of charities.
Oxfordshire runners played their part, most romping home within minutes of their target times, with many first-timers saying they were eager to do another, but others saying "Never again!".
Showers failed to put off the runners and the crowds that thronged the length of the course.
Two Wantage men were raising money for the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
Company director and grandfather Mike Rowe, 46, of Greenacres Drive, was raising money for the charity which has helped his daughter, Paige, who was born blind. He completed the course in 4hrs 31minutes.
His colleague, Nathan Rooke, 35, of Charlton Road, a training officer with Didcot firefighters, did his in 3hrs 59 minutes. Between them, they raised £3,600.
Mr Rowe, a father of seven children, said: "I did my running training on my own round the lanes in rural Oxfordshire.
"Then, to go to London and have millions of people watching you, cheering you and handing you sweets, was a most overwhelming and wonderful experience. We both want to do the London Marathon again - it was a tremendous day."
Father-and-son runners, Adam and David Beasley, of Wallingford, both completed the course and raised £1,200 between them for their children's charity, The Family Holiday Association.
Adam, 34, of Barley Close, had a target of three-and-a-half hours but missed it by just seven minutes. Sunday's race was his third marathon.
His father, local historian David, 67, lives in Crowmarsh and works part-time in the Wallingford Bookshop, near his son's offices in St Martin's Street. He completed his fourth marathon in 5hrs 42mins.
Ruth Busby gave herself three challenges for her first-time running of the marathon - she wanted to complete the course, do it without stopping and come in under five hours.
She achieved all three and raised £2,600 for the children's charity Barnardo's.
Mrs Busby, 28, of Ladygrove, Didcot, who works for the Home Office, said: "I don't think I'll do another marathon, I ache in every bone, but I will continue to give myself challenges."
She finished the course in 4hrs 53mins.
She said: "The crowds were great. All the way round they encouraged the runners, but their enthusiasm was most appreciated in the last four miles. Without their help, many would never have finished."
Civil servant Scott Johnston, 28, of Windrush Mews, on the Ladygrove Estate, Didcot, was on his first marathon, but it will not be his last.
He said: "It was an absolutely fantastic day - the atmosphere, the crowds, the other runners.
"It was painful at times, but I am raring to do the London Marathon again next year.
"Near Hyde Park, I saw a hot-air balloon shaped like a monster and I kept that image with me all the way. It made me smile and I had this grin on all the rest of the way."
He was cheered on by family, workmates and friends from his native Glasgow and raised £1,500 for the charity Heart UK. He aimed at 3hrs 30minutes and finished only just short of his target.
He said: "I missed the target by ten minutes, but I'm not disappointed - it was a wonderful experience."
A knee injury slowed down first-timer Claire Patel, 33, of Foster Road, Abingdon, but she still completed the course.
She said: "I had more or less to shuffle round a large part of the course, so my target time of five hours was not possible. I completed the course in six hours."
She raised £1,500 for the charity Well Child which researches childhood diseases. And another marathon? Mrs Patel said: "I'll see how I feel when the aches and pains have settled down before I answer that one for sure."
Five hours on the dot was Trudi Wilkes's time for her first marathon. Ms Wilkes, 35, of Longworth, the regional digital media manager for Newsquest, publishers of The Herald, raised £1,300 for the Royal British Legion.
She said: "The crowds were wonderful, the atmosphere electric - I don't think I could have got round without their enthusiastic support."
Faringdon lifeguard Becky Allen successfully tackled the challenge of her first London Marathon.
Gap-year student Becky, 18, who works at Faringdon leisure centre and lives just outside the town, completed the course in 6hrs 48 mins, raising between £1,200 and £1,300 for the British Heart Foundation.
Although she had hoped to get round in under five hours, Becky said: "It was really good, I am incredibly proud. I would like to run it again, I do not think I will do it next year, maybe in a couple of years' time."
Becky, who ran with friend Kim Ashdown, chose to support the British Heart Foundation because both her grandfathers died of heart disease before she was born.
Wantage PE teacher Scott Hooper was also due to run the marathon, hoping to rais £1,400 for the charity, Action for Blind People. Mr Hooper, who works at King Alfred's Community and Sports College, used to work for the organisation as a sports coach and co-ordinator.
It is not yet known in what time Mr Hooper completed the course or how much he raised.
8:10am Tuesday 15th April 2008
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