Runners in this year’s TCS London Marathon have broken an all-time record for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), raising a staggering £85,000 for the hospital charity with just 19 participants. Each runner took on the 26.2-mile challenge to give back to Addenbrooke’s and thank hospital staff for the care they or a loved one received.
Supporting Cutting-Edge Care and Research
As the official hospital charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, ACT funds cutting-edge equipment, specialist staff, extra comforts, and pioneering research that help change and save lives, above and beyond what the NHS can provide. ACT is also raising funds to build two new pioneering hospitals in Cambridge: the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
Emily Willdigg, community fundraising manager at ACT, who was present on the day, said: “We want to say a huge thank you to all our runners who have worked so hard to get to this point and who raised such a staggering amount for ACT. Their money will make a huge difference to our hospitals. As well as funding services and research that the NHS is not able to fund, their money will also go towards building two groundbreaking new hospitals that will benefit patients not just regionally but nationally and globally.”
Cheer Point in Shadwell
Friends and family of the runners joined ACT’s Community Fundraising team at the cheer point in Shadwell, where they saw runners at both the 13-14 mile mark and again at mile 22 when the course doubled back. Emily said: “It was so emotional knowing all the reasons why everyone was running on the day. We were on such a high at the end of it, and it was lovely to have friends and family at the ACT cheer point too.”
Community fundraiser Sophie Street added: “All the runners had a smile on their faces. You could see how much it meant to them.”
MyWay Runners
In addition to TCS London Marathon runners, ACT also had four MyWay runners, who chose to run the 26.2 miles in an area of their choice. Husband and wife team Linda and Adrian Pepper completed their MyWay in London, running the actual London Marathon course in reverse, setting off at one minute past midnight on Sunday and running through the night. Linda chose to run for ACT after receiving life-changing surgery at Addenbrooke’s. Together, she and Adrian raised £4,000 for ACT after running in this year’s TTP Cambridge Half, the Paris Marathon, and London.
Despite a fall at the five-and-a-half-mile mark where she hurt her knee, Linda was determined to carry on. She said: “This was my sixth marathon but also my hardest one. My motto is – she believed she could, so she did. Last night I did!”
Runners from Across the UK
ACT’s team of runners came from across the UK, as far afield as Nottingham and Windsor. Almost all have experienced care first-hand at Addenbrooke’s or the Rosie, demonstrating the hospitals’ far-reaching impact. Most were taking part for the first time and still clocked impressive times. Runner Paul Collins came in with the fastest time of 3:43:45, and several runners finished sub four hours, including Georgia Basham, who ran with her mum Nikki, and Jack Sibbons, who crossed the finish line at 3:58.
Jack was running for his twin sister, Amy De Silva, who was diagnosed with leukaemia while pregnant with her third child. Jack, fondly referred to as ‘Uncle Jack’ for the support he gave to Amy and her boys, was there for the first chemotherapy session in every round of her treatment. Despite concerns over her baby’s health, Amy gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Chester, nine months ago, giving him the middle name Jack in a nod to her brother.
Amy and her husband Greg were there on the day with their three boys to watch Jack cross the finish line. Their two older boys, Hugo and Dawson, wore t-shirts that read: “Addenbrooke’s saved my life,” and in Chester’s case, “Addenbrooke’s saved my mummy and me.” Amy, who is now in remission, said: “It was so hot! But Jack was amazing. We had a lovely day and it was so fabulous to be part of it and share it with him.”
Jack has raised more than £40,000 for ACT, including a children’s Halloween party, a colour run, and a gala dinner and auction that raised £21,000.
Record-Breaking Team
Official photos from the TCS London Marathon will be posted on ACT social media later in the week. In the meantime, the team said: “A HUGE thank you goes to our record-breaking team of runners: Jack, Greg, Paul, Lizzie, James, Tom, Georgia, Matt Allen (director of New Hospital Construction for both the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and Cambridge Children’s Hospital), Josh, Jo, Nikki, Leighton, Joanne, Mia, Jenna, Linda and Adrian Pepper, Gemma and Tasmin-Jane.”
If ACT’s runners have inspired you to run next year’s London Marathon, applications for ACT London Marathon 2027 places are now live. Full details can be found at www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk/events/tcs-london-marathon-2027.
