Charity runners finish London Marathon despite pain and rain

THE chief executive of the Henley Festival says it felt “fantastic” to complete the London Marathon.

Jo Bausor was one of a number of people from the Henley area who took part in Sunday’s event.

The race returned to its traditional date in the calendar for the first time since 2019 after being moved during the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 48,000 runners took part, raising millions of pounds for charity, and huge crowds lining the streets despite the damp conditions.

Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum broke the course record to win the men’s event in the second-fastest time ever for a marathon.

Mrs Bausor, 53, from Bix, completed the course in a time of five hours and seven minutes and raised £12,872 for Sue Ryder.

She said: “I can’t believe I did it. It was such a monumental day and it is going to take a while to sink in.

“The crowds were amazing. When you see the marathon on TV you can’t possibly imagine the sheer volume of runners and size of the crowd.

“It was quite hard in parts and a huge challenge. In training, we only ran 20 miles and those extra six seemed quite long.

“The weather in the first hour was heavy rain and we got wet when we were waiting to start.”

Mrs Bausor said she “pushed through” to the end.

She said: “Walking was not an option for me. I wanted to say I had ‘run’ the London Marathon, although I probably went too fast in the first 10 miles.”

Her husband, Daniel, who has run the marathon twice, their daughters and friends supported her on the day.

Mrs Bausor: “That was the best thing and they were always there when I most needed a lift.

“Running along Tower Bridge was the second best bit of the whole thing and one of my daughters was there.

“The best part was reaching the finish line. You’re running up to Buckingham Palace and you see the finish and it is the most unbelievable feeling and absolutely fantastic.”

To celebrate, Ms Bausor went for a meal with her family and friends.

She said: “I felt brilliant for the first three hours, then everything really started to hurt. I can confidently say I will never do it again.”

Kelly and Ian Hargreaves, of Newtown Gardens, Henley, completed the marathon together.

She was running in aid of MACS, which supports children born without eyes or with undeveloped eyes.

Mrs Hargreaves, 56, a hairdresser, said: “I managed to meet up with my husband who was in a different pen to me.

“We agreed to meet at mile four as the pens merge at mile three. He had to wait a few minutes for me but then we ran together and crossed the finish line together.

“I got the exact same time as my previous personal best, four hours and 44 minutes. It was so weird but I was obviously absolutely ecstatic.”

Mrs Hargreaves, who was taking part for the eighth time, said the crowds this year were probably the best she had known.

She said: “It was just a fantastic day, although my foot’s a bit sore. The weather was a bit rubbish at the beginning but the atmosphere was amazing.

“My daughter, Millie, and her boyfriend, Tom, came to support us as well as lots of friends. I have to thank them a lot as it’s a marathon in itself trying to get around the course so you can see us run.

“We managed to see Millie four times and you can pretty much always hear her.”

Mrs Hargreaves and her family stayed in London for drinks and a meal before going home.

She said: “I was a little bit tired but you have to celebrate.

“I ended up raising more than £1,700, which I am really grateful for. It is tough for everybody at the moment, so I thought I would have to make up the donations myself.

“Doing it for charity is the main thing. At the end of the day, it was for the children with no or small eyes. We met them in the morning and they stand around the course in certain areas. I went to meet them at Horse Guards Parade afterwards as well. You know your money is going to a good cause.”

Steve Wray, from Bix, completed the run for the first time, having tried to get a place for about 40 years.

He was finally allocated a place this year and completed the course in four hours and 55 minutes. Mr Wray, 55, said: “I was slightly slower than I had hoped but it doesn’t matter. I am a little bit tired but I feel good.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years and I have finally managed to tick it off my bucket list, so a job well done.

“I have run the virtual marathon for the last two years, where you run 26 miles on race day, but it wasn’t the same. This was my first proper marathon and it was great to have finally done that.

“I was nervous to begin with but the support was absolutely fantastic. I had my name on my bib so people were shouting ‘Come on, Steve’, which really helped, although it was slightly disappointing to be overtaken by a red telephone box!

“There was light rain and drizzle all the way, which keeps you cool. I felt relieved when I reached the finish line. It is a long run and you can get drained towards the end.”

His wife, Helen, went to support him and saw him at the Cutty Sark at mile six. Mr Wray said: “Unfortunately, she then got caught on the Tube, which was absolutely packed with supporters, so I didn’t get to see her again until the end.

“We haven’t celebrated yet but I hope to do something over the bank holiday weekend.”

He raised £2,210 for the animal rescue charity Blue Cross.

Helen Munson, from Shiplake, raised £2,040 for the Berkshire MS therapy centre.

The 43-year-old, who was diagnosed with MS in 2016, regularly attends the centre and has weekly oxygen therapy sessions.

She finished the race in a time of five hours and 50 minutes.

Mrs Munson said: “I am glad to have finished. I had a really sore toe which blistered quite badly and held me back so I had to walk more times than I should have needed to and now I can only wear flip-flops.

“The weather was atrocious and my socks got so wet, which I think caused the blister. There were so many puddles and it was hard to avoid them.

“I think there would have been more supporters if the weather was better but there was still a good atmosphere.

“My daughter, Sophie, was there with her friends and other mums. They were all at different points and managed to see me three or four times. They were tracking me on the marathon app and called out my name as I went past.

“It was nice to cross the line and finally take my trainers off. Fortunately, I had brought flip flops with me. It’s amazing to know I achieved it.”

Alex James, of St Mark’s Road, Henley, was also taking part for the first time and raised £5,725 for The Alzheimer’s Society.

The 47-year-old said that as she ran she thought about her father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. She said: “He used to run 10kms and my mum wore one of his medals. I would kiss it every time I stopped.”

She finished in five hours and 20 minutes.

Ms James said: “I wasn’t in it for the time but to enjoy it.

“My mum, Doreen, was there with my husband, Mark and son, Ben, and they managed to see me in four spots, which was incredible. I would stop and have a chat with them. My mum is 83 and was getting battered left, right and centre by the crowd.

“My husband’s brother and his wife also came as well as some of my best friends.

“I was trying to take it all in. I was high-fiving kids, I danced to Sweet Caroline outside a pub with the crowds and took a selfie with someone dressed as a rhino.

“I also slowed down while running over Tower Bridge to take in the sights. Seeing everyone at mile 25 opposite Big Ben was a massive high.

“Just when I was starting to hurt, one of my brothers, who lives abroad, gave me a call, which was such a lift. I can’t describe how amazing the crowd were. I ate about 800 jelly babies from the spectators en route and I had my name on my bib, so many people were calling out my name.

“It was horrible and absolutely tipping it down when I started but you can’t change the weather, you have to change your attitude. I am fine with running in the rain and I felt for the spectators, although they didn’t seem to mind. By the end, the sun was out.”

After the race, Ms James and her family went for beer and burgers in Covent Garden.

She said: “There were a lot of other runners there too. When we saw the toilets were down a massive flight of stairs, we all went: ‘You’ve got to be joking’. We had to hobble up and down.”

Ms James added: “I was in Tesco on Monday and thought, ‘Crikey, 24 hours ago I was running’. It was such a surreal comedown.”

Mary Galer, 43, from Goring, was running the marathon for a second time and finished in four hours and five minutes.

She said: “I am happy with my time, although I would have liked to run in less than four hours. The conditions didn’t help — I had wet feet before I even started.

“Running was really fantastic, even though it was pretty wet, and the crowd didn’t let us down at any point. The food offerings were amazing and so were the cheers and banners.

“I had prepared various mantras to help get me round but I didn’t need them because the crowd kept me going.

“I tried listening to music for a bit but the crowds were so loud, I couldn’t hear it.

“I was also so busy watching them that I nearly bumped into the people in front.”

Mrs Galer, who is food and beverage manager of Goring and Streatley Golf Club, was cheered on by her husband, Nick, and eldest son Elliot, 13.

She said: “They were great support. A colleague from work also came with her mum. I ended up only seeing them once and missed them at another point.

“The Tube was so busy that they took an hour to meet me at the finish line, which was a bit of an anti-climax. I had a bit of a tear and was bent over and a chap asked if I was all right and gave me a hug.

“It was a relief to finish because from mile 20 I felt that if I stopped, I wouldn’t start again, so I had to push.

“Finishing was amazing. It felt quite emotional to say I had done it and raised some money for charity as well.”

To celebrate, Mrs Galer enjoyed a glass of wine and a Chinese takeaway at home before retiring to bed.

She said: “I think I was a bit carried away with it all. My youngest was coming back from cub camp and I just wanted to give him a hug and share the food with him.”

She raised £1,267 for Bowel Cancer UK and £536 for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Mrs Galer said: “I am so grateful to friends and family for their support. My colleague, Keith, went around at work asking the golfers what time they thought I would do and my boss got it right.

“I know of at least three people who have been affected by bowel cancer so I was particularly proud to raise money for that charity.”

Olympic rower Jack Beaumont ran the marathon in a time of three hours and 14 minutes.

The former Leander Club captain said: “I surprised myself as I was aiming for three and a half hours. Everyone always says it starts to hurt at 30km but I got there and felt fine so I started overtaking people.

“I felt so tired afterwards and thought I was going to be sick as I had pushed myself. But I would do it again and would recommend it to anyone.

“It was really special and the crowd was just insane. Some of my Olympic teammates cheered me on just past Tower Bridge.”

Mr Beaumont, who lives in Maidenhead, raised £2,447 for the charity Chance for Childhood, which helps impoverished children in Africa.

He said: “I was really pleased with the amount. I was blown away by how much people supported me.”

As part of his fundraising efforts, he is offering one person the chance to row with fellow Olympians Tom Barras and Harry Leask
in the Team GB silver medal-winning quad followed by dinner at Leander.

The competition is open to anyone who donates £20 or more to his Just Giving fundraising page at https://tinyurl.com/2p95xbvx

The winner will be picked at random.