FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The powerful stories behind those taking part
in the 2024 TCS London Marathon
Thousands of participants will take on the 2024 TCS London Marathon on
Sunday 21 April, each with their own powerful reason to run, but for some
the event holds particular poignance and significance.
None more so than for those taking part for the 2024 TCS London Marathon
Charity of the Year, Samaritans, a charity that provides support to anyone
in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout
the UK and Northern Ireland. Among those taking part for #TeamSamaritans,
are Dave, Tamsin and Roxy.
Dave Lock, 62, from Essex, also known as 'The Running Telephone', will be
completing his 25th London Marathon for Samaritans and this year has the
honour of being the #TeamSamaritans captain. Having contacted Samaritans
himself when experiencing suicidal thoughts, and been a listening
volunteer, Dave knows first-hand how life-saving the service can be.
He said: "Running for Samaritans is both a privilege and a pleasure. It is
easier to run 26.2 miles than to take a call as a Samaritan volunteer. I am
as passionate about Samaritans' mission today as I was when I crossed the
start line for my first London Marathon in 1999.
"I called Samaritans a few times but eventually I pulled myself out of it.
What it did teach me, is that simply talking can help you to find a way
out. It doesn't matter where you are there is someone to listen to you.
That's why I am always on that start line as a telephone.”
Joining him will be Tamsin, 53, a Samaritans volunteer who is serving in
the Royal Air Force and identifies as a gay woman. Tamsin has struggled
with her mental health and has experienced suicidal thoughts because of her
sexuality. Volunteering as a Samaritan is Tamsin's way of offering support
to anyone feeling lost or suffering the effects of trauma.
Roxy, 29, from Blackburn will join Dave, Tamsin and the hundreds of other
people running as part of #TeamSamaritans, when she takes on her first TCS
London Marathon as a 'mental elf'. Roxy hopes to raise awareness of the
importance of opening up and talking when you are struggling, having first
used Samaritans services when she found herself on a dark mental path
following the death of her grandad. Since then, sadly, one of Roxy's close
friends took their own life during the pandemic and she hopes that by
raising awareness of the support Samaritans can offer to those struggling,
she will help to save lives.
The Start Line of the 2024 TCS London Marathon will feature an array of
participants, all with further inspiring stories. Below is just a selection
of those who will join #TeamSamartians on Sunday 21 April.
Julie McElroy, from Glasgow
Charity: The Richard Whitehead Foundation
Julie is aiming to be the first female frame runner to complete the TCS
London Marathon. Born in Glasow with cerebral palsy, Julie has faced and
overcome many unique challenges throughout her life. Her quest for
inclusion, and passion for sport, have come together in her biggest
challenge yet: this year's TCS London Marathon.
Frame running allows individuals with mobility challenges to run using
specially designed frames. It has afforded Julie increased independence,
confidence, and enhanced social inclusion in events that otherwise would
have been impossible for her. Julie began frame running two years ago in
Glasgow and now hopes that by showcasing her own achievements at mass
participation events, she will encourage and inspire others to feel that
there is space for them in events like the TCS London Marathon.
Juile will be running for the Richard Whitehead Foundation, whose mission
is to create social change using the power of sport to inspire people with
a disability.
Ellie Hudson, 39, from Ely
Charity: Action Medical Research for Children
A self-confessed running novice, Ellie will be running her first TCS London
Marathon in April, for the charity Action Medical Research for Children,
which funds research into incurable diseases.
Ellie's six-year-old son, Finley, was diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan
anemia (DBA) aged just three-months-old. DBA is an incurable disease that
primarily affects the bone marrow; people with the condition often also
have physical abnormalities affecting various parts of the body. The major
function of bone marrow is to produce new blood cells, but in DBA, the bone
marrow malfunctions and fails to make enough red blood cells, which carry
oxygen to the body's tissues - just 125 people suffer from DBA in the UK.
Since his birth, Finley has suffered with cardiac issues, has been
diagnosed profoundly deaf, and contracted meningitis twice. Throughout
Finley's medical issues, Ellie was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and she
credits her young son with inspiring her to keep going during her own
treatments.
Finley has faced life and death so many times and has come through all of
it magnificently and will require many more medical interventions as he
develops, but he is Ellie's hero. Her hope is that by taking part in the
2024 TCS London Marathon she will increase awareness of this rare disease
and raise funds that can be used to help find a cure.
Craig Vaughan, 37, from Leeds
Charity: Archie's Caravan
Craig, and his friend Ryan, will be taking part in the 2024 TCS London
Marathon in memory of his son, Archie Vaughan, who died in 2021, aged three
years old. Neither Craig nor Ryan have ever run a marathon before, but they
will be putting all their efforts into training and fundraising for
Archie's Caravan - a charity set up in Archie's memory which provides free
holidays for families with children affected by cancer.
Archie arrived on Christmas Day in 2017, a little brother for Craig's older
children, Lily and Harry, and their family was complete. Things started to
change for Archie in June 2021, and although he was still a happy, chatty
little boy, his head started to tilt to one side. After visiting the
doctors, and then the hospital, Archie was diagnosed with an aggressive
brain tumour.
Following a 10-hour operation in July 2021, and a quick recovery, the
family left hospital and went to Archie's favourite place - the beach.
During his illness, Archie's family continued to make memories together,
including day trips, parties, holidays to Spain, a Disney cruise and a
visit from the local fire brigade.
However, when his medical team discovered that Archie's tumour was in his
brainstem, and too dangerous to operate on, he was placed on palliative
care and sadly passed away at home in November 2021.
The family raised £70,000 for Archie's potential treatment and following
his death, the money was eventually used to buy Archie's Caravan, helping
families with children affected by cancer have a free break when they are
going through the unthinkable.
Craig says their family will keep doing all they can in Archie's memory to
help others - including running the 2024 TCS London Marathon to raise more
funds for Archie's Caravan.
Callum Yorston, 28, from London
Charity: Tommy's
Callum is hoping to raise as much as he can for Tommy's, the pregnancy and
baby loss charity, when he runs the 2024 TCS London Marathon in April.
Tommy's funds research into the causes and prevention of miscarriage,
prematurity, and stillbirth.
Callum's partner, Hannah, has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Among
other things, this often makes conceiving a baby difficult. After years of
trying to become parents, Callum and Hannah turned to their GP for help.
They were referred to the LOCI medical trial which investigates how to
assist women with PCOS to become (and remain) pregnant. The trial is
supported by Tommy's.
Three months into treatment, the couple found out Hannah was pregnant. They
were over the moon because something they had almost given up hope on
seemed within reach again. Sadly though, on 20 April 2023, they were told
the baby hadn't developed as hoped, and another scan a week later confirmed
that Hannah had suffered a miscarriage. It was a whirlwind of physical pain
and decision making that Callum and Hannah weren't prepared for. Throughout
their grief, they found Tommy's to be incredibly helpful in explaining next
steps, answering questions and helping them come to terms with their loss.
The 2023 TCS London Marathon took place the day after they discovered
Hannah had miscarried and, to distract himself from the grief, Callum
wandered down to watch the runners pass through Greenwich. He felt inspired
and entered the ballot for 2024.
He was successful and will be running to promote the work of Tommy's and to
encourage more people to speak about their own experiences of baby loss -
each year there are around 200,000 miscarriages in the UK and one in four
pregnancies end in loss or complications.
Kiko Rutter, 83, from Farnham
Charity: The Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity (PKD)
Kiko is an 83-year-old retired surgeon who is running his third London
Marathon this April. He is raising money for a small mission hospital on
Vella Lavella, one of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, which his
father ran from 1938 to 1942. Kiko was born there in 1940, but left the
island in the Second World War, before returning in 1944 when his father
set up the new medical service on the islands. The small hospital is still
there today, and Kiko is very keen to support it financially.
Kiko and his wife tried to sail to the Solomons with medical equipment in
their yacht in 1998, but when in Vanuatu, only a day's sail away from the
islands, they were advised by the Foreign Office not to continue due to
serious ethnic violence. So, they turned left for Australia and finally got
back to the UK in 2004 - leaving them with unfinished business. Kiko tends
to return to the islands after running a marathon, taking with him the
money he has raised.
In 2018, Kiko ran the Nottingham Marathon, raising £23,000 and enough to
equip the school on Vella Lavella with a computer department and a science
laboratory. In December 2022, he ran in a marathon at Goodwood, and on this
occasion raised £21,000 to provide the same hospital he was born in with a
large solar panel power generation system.
Kiko visited the island last year, planning the project with the hospital
manager, and this year he hopes to raise enough money to give the hospital
a battery bank to help it retain the power generated during the day, for
running the hospital at night.
At 83, Kiko expects this will be his last London Marathon, so he intends to
make the most of it and enjoy the experience. He also hopes to raise more
than £20,000 for charity once again.
Thomas Eller, 43, from Essen, Germany
Charity: Team Sense
Thomas is a deaf-born runner hailing from Essen, Germany. In 2023, he
etched his name in the history of the global deaf community by becoming the
world's first deaf-born Abbott World Marathon Majors Six-Star medal
finisher in Tokyo. Taking it a step further, he completed all six major
races - Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City - in a
single calendar year, earning the esteemed title of the world's first
deaf-born World Marathon Majors Slam finisher.
Beyond personal triumphs, Thomas is a deaf teacher. He works at the David
Ludwig Bloch School located in Essen, Germany, teaching English, Maths, and
Geography. During his lessons he uses both spoken language and sign
language to provide his deaf students with the opportunity to choose the
communication method they prefer.
His students, aged 12 to 14, are primarily refugees from war zones. Being
their deaf role model, Thomas says he strives to inspire them by
demonstrating that despite being deaf, they can actively participate in the
community, communicate effectively, and achieve great things. Building a
bridge between the deaf and hearing communities is a central goal of
Thomas' work and he says that after each marathon, he enjoys sharing his
experiences with his class to help boost their own self-confidence and
empower them to take up physical activity. This, to Thomas, is Deaf
Empowerment.
Thomas is committed to making mass participation events more accessible and
inclusive for the deaf community. Though his disability may be invisible,
Thomas sees himself as a bridge between the hearing and deaf communities,
exemplifying that deaf individuals can accomplish monumental feats. His aim
is to inspire others, particularly his deaf students, by serving as their
role model.
The TCS London Marathon holds a special place in Thomas' heart, providing
him with a unique platform to address the world and demonstrate that deaf
individuals can transform dreams into reality.
You can read about the celebrities taking part in the event, which include
Romesh Ranganathan and Ruth Wilson, here.
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