Sunday 22nd April saw 3 of our runners join over 40,000 people racing through the capital to take part in the 38th annual London Marathon. All three smashed their targets and ran an incredible race, Megan (4hr 11min), Emma (5hr 6 min), Bubura (5hr 20 min). You can still donate to their chosen charities, Street Doctors, Rape Crisis and Barts Guild, by visiting the London Marathon RAG Page. You can find out what they had to say about their experience below:
Bubura
"I am really grateful to be given this opportunity to run and experience one of the biggest marathon in the world!”
Megan
“Running in the London Marathon was incredible, the support from the crowd motivates you to continue and running through Tower Hamlets means that there will be plenty of friends along the route, it is something that I would recommend to all no matter what your baseline fitness, knowing that you are raising money for something you care about means that the pain at the end of the day is worth it.” ?
Emma
“Absolutely incredible experience that challenges you in every way possible, and makes the achievement that much more special.”
A huge congratulations to our runners in their 2018 London Marathon efforts and it could be you next year! QMSU RAG are given 3 places in the London Marathon each year, so make sure you keep an eye out on the RAG website in the new academic year to see how you could be there next year!
Not only did we have our brilliant runners, QMSU Volunteering gathered a group of 70 Queen Mary volunteers to take over Mile 19 in Canary Wharf. Paul, Volunteering Coordinator shared what they got up to:
“We woke up at the crack of dawn to volunteer as race marshals at one of the toughest points on the entire route. We met at 7.15am outside Canary Wharf tube station and headed over to State Side Bank where the London Marathon team briefed us on what to expect throughout the day.
We spread out across Mile 19 in time for the first race to start at 10am. Just over an hour later, the first of the elite wheelchair athletes whizzed by at impressive speed. The elite women followed shortly after, then the elite men (including Mo Farah which left us a little bit star struck) and finally the tens of thousands of mass runners. The sun was shining from the outset and while that meant we had the chance to top up our tans, the runners had to face some of the toughest race conditions in the event’s history. Many suffered terrible cramps and others collapsed due to sheer exhaustion. Every single one of our volunteers reacted quickly, helping the runners to safety, showing compassion and encouragement, and alerting the St John’s Ambulance team when necessary.
Witnessing so many people complete such an enormous physical challenge in aid of countless good causes was inspirational. Even though we were on our feet for ten hours, everybody kept smiling and cheering people on, so much so that some volunteers lost their voices! The feedback from volunteers has been unanimously positive, many telling me that they can’t wait to do it all again next year.”
A huge thank you to the QMSU London Marathon Volunteer Team of 2018!
