The Virgin London Marathon had almost perfect running conditions for the 26.2 miles on Sunday.
More than 38,000 runners left the starting line, and among the mass were runners from Havering – some suffering injuries during the course, others hobbling to finish it, but all raising money for their chosen charities.
Reality star Amy Childs finished her first London Marathon looking immaculate. The former The Only Way Is Essex star, who has a salon in Brentwood, was raising money for the British Heart Foundation and completed the marathon in five hours and 47 minutes.
She said: “I am so proud of finishing the marathon. It was such hard work and I hit the wall at 15 miles but I just remembered all the amazing children I met at the Royal Brompton Hospital and the great charity that I was fundraising for, the British Heart Foundation.”
Also running was Tom Binder, who tripped over a discarded water bottle and damaged his tendon, and hobbled the last nine miles.
The trip inflamed a previous Achilles’ injury, and the 21-year-old almost dropped out of the marathon because of it, but said his family’s support got him through it.
Tom, of Pettits Lane, Romford, said: “I stretched the tendon it after I tripped and kept going because I knew my family was waiting for me at mile 17.
“I carried on and saw a physio at mile 18 who gave me some painkillers. I met my dad again at mile 20 and I was bowled over by the support of the crowd.
“I didn’t want to not finish because I didn’t want to let people down.”
Tom finished in five hours 40 minutes and raised £600 for his chosen charity, Arthritis Research UK.
Edd Shipton, from Hornchurch, who finished in six hours 18 minutes, was raising money for the First Step charity, which looks after his severely disabled daughter, Grace.
He said: “I managed to finish although I had major cramp problems from mile 14. The heat caused lots of problems too, but the crowd were amazing! They kept me moving when I really thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
Gemma Baulch, of Riversdale Road, Romford, was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 16. She ran to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust unit of University College Hospital.
Gemma, now 23, said: “It was such a brilliant and overwhelming day! It was definitely worth all the hours and agony of training. I want to say a huge thank you to all my friends and family who were there cheering me on and to everyone who has sponsored and supported me.”
She finished the race in four hours 42 minutes and has raised £3,000.
Nurses Debbie and Kerry, who work in St Francis Hospice’s inpatient unit, took part in their first marathon.
They finished in 5hrs 24mins and 7hrs 25mins respectively.
Kerry said: “It was very rewarding, hard going because of the weather, but the crowd got you going. I ran in memory of my mum and for the hospice.”
For more pictures see our picture gallery at Romford Pictures: London Marathon.
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