Hospital staff on why they're running the London Marathon

Georgia Galloway, Sarah Edwards, and Helen Gregory will join thousands as they take part in the TCS-sponsored event in April.

Working at Peterborough City Hospital, the three are raising money for a range of charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and Deafblind UK.

With a combined fundraising target of just over £8,000 and with the event just under two months away, Georgia, Sarah, and Helen explain why running this year’s marathon is so important to them.

“This year will be a dream come true”

For Helen, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust’s only Macmillan consultant radiotherapy radiographer, this year marks her first ever London Marathon.

But if pounding London’s pavements isn’t enough of an achievement, the member of the local Stamford Striders Running Club plans to run a half marathon every month during 2024 in a bid to clock up 159 event miles.

Helen is hoping to raise £2,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support, a charity offering care, support, and advice to patients across the UK.

Helen supports patients undergoing inpatient and outpatient palliative radiotherapy. (Image: NWA NHS Foundation Trust)

She said: “For as long as I can remember I have wanted to run the London Marathon and after a number of failed attempts in the ballot, this year will be a dream come true.

Based at Peterborough City Hospital, Helen supports patients undergoing inpatient and outpatient palliative radiotherapy, who are experiencing symptoms due to secondary or metastatic cancer.

She added: “I have the support and encouragement of a great local running community, friends, family and colleagues, and am really looking forward to the whole atmosphere of the event as well as fulfilling a personal goal.”

“I am absolutely thrilled”

No stranger to competitive running, Georgia will also be fulfilling a long-term ambition to take part in the UK’s second largest annual road race.

Based in Peterborough City Hospital’s Medical Assessment Unit, the third-year internal medicine trainee has spent months braving the elements in a bid to prepare for the event.

Georgia (pictured right) from Bourne is a well known face in the local scouts and her passion for the scouting movement began as a teenager.

As Assistant Chief Commissioner for England, she’ll will be missing a key date in the scouting calendar – the annual Day of Celebration and Achievement at Windsor Castle – as it falls on the same day as the London Marathon.

Hoping to raise £4,000 for the charity Deafblind UK with her friend Carolyn Greig, Georgia explains she is looking forward to fundraising for such a vital cause.

She said: “Training is going well and despite the clash of dates with the Windsor Castle event, I am absolutely thrilled to be able to take part in something which has been an ambition of mine for so long while raising funds for a great cause.”

“I decided I needed a challenge”

For Sarah Edwards, training for and running the London Marathon could perhaps be her biggest challenge yet.

The healthcare assistant completed her first event in October last year with no previous running experience.

She said: “My husband has run the whole time I’ve known him and over the years I’ve tried as I’ve loved the idea of running or being able to run with him, but it’s hard and I’ve given up before I could even get to run a mile."

Sarah completed her first event in October last year with no previous running experience. (Image: NWA NHS Foundation Trust)

But Sarah, who is raising money for Revitalise, a national charity providing breaks and holidays for disabled people, explains she aims to cross the finish line one way or another.

She added: “Training is hard - I took for granted how hard running is mentally and physically, the longer distances mean I’m also having to find time in the week and some runs are over two hours so it’s getting harder.

“I am a slow runner, and I will be happy to just finish, whether I run, walk or get carried across the finish line - doesn't matter to me.”