Nineteen brave runners took on the gruelling 26.2 mile run at the Virgin London Marathon this weekend (Sunday 23 April), raising a whopping £42,000 in support of young people in YMCAs across England and Wales.
In total, runners from 11 different YMCAs, some from as far away as North Tyneside and Burton, made up Team YMCA at this year’s marathon, raising money to help fund the national work of the world’s largest youth organisation as well as community services provided by local YMCAs.
YMCA England & Wales is made up of 116 member YMCAs, which operate in almost 740 different communities, providing opportunities for young people to thrive and impacting upon the lives of more than 630,000 people every year.
Denise Hatton, YMCA England & Wales Chief Executive, said:
“We want to thank all our amazing runners for their hard work, both in training and fundraising, for the Virgin Money London Marathon this year.
“Running a marathon takes a lot of dedication, time and strength and we are so proud and grateful to everyone who ran for us so that we can continue to provide much needed services for young people.”
Fundraisers were cheered on by crowds of supporters along the course and were celebrated at a special post-race reception at Central Hall Westminster after they crossed the finish line.
Phil Oram, who completed the marathon in support of City YMCA and YMCA England & Wales, said:
“I can honestly say yesterday was the hardest of the three [marathons] I have now done.
“At times I just wanted to stop but knew that I had signed up for this to try and make a difference.
“I have said all along that everyone should have a place they call home and I hope that the funds we raised will go some way to supporting this.”
Among Team YMCA were runners from YMCA Bournemouth, YMCA Cambridge and Peterborough, YMCA Milton Keynes, YMCA Wellington, YMCA East Surrey, YMCA Burton, Newbury YMCA, City YMCA, YMCA Humber, YMCA North Tyneside and YMCA North London.
To find out more about what YMCA does to help in your community, visit www.ymca.org.uk/find-a-ymca
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YMCA England & Wales
- YMCA England & Wales is made up of 116 member YMCAs working to ensure young people have opportunities to thrive and contribute positively to their communities.
- YMCA operates in almost 740 different communities across England and Wales impacting upon the lives of more than 630,000 people every year.
- YMCA provides a home to more than 18,000 people experiencing homelessness each year making us largest voluntary sector provider of supported housing for young people in England and Wales.
- YMCA England & Wales enables more than 68,000 people every year to engage in education and training to enable them to improve their opportunities in the job market.
- With 60 gyms and 125,000 people engaged in our health and wellbeing services, YMCA is the largest voluntary sector provider of services promoting physical activity in England and Wales.
- YMCA England & Wales provides mental health advice and counselling for more than 17,000 young people every year.