Dear Stakeholders,

More than 45,000 people have signed up to run the first “virtual” London Marathon on 4^th  October after the actual race was cancelled last month due to the risk of coronavirus spread.

In an attempt to give disappointed runners an alternative target, and to help ease the impact on charities who benefit from millions of pounds of sponsorship, athletes/runners were given the chance to run the 26.2 mile distance on their own on a course of their choice.

Our Site Manager Paul Corbett has not given up on his training during the pandemic. On Sunday the 04^th at 09h30am he will put his running to good use and raise funds for Willow Foundation. Willow is the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 to fulfil uplifting and unforgettable Special Days. https://www.willowfoundation.org.uk/

He will not have the crowds cheering him on during this extremely challenging event, but some members of our Broadway Team will be running parts of the course with Paul in a smart and sensible way.

Broadway Pacemakers will make sure he keeps his pace, be sufficiently fuelled and hydrated before and during the marathon run and he doesn’t run out of energy. As you can see on the map, this is the route and a relay of pacemakers will take place where the pink flags are showing.

While the virtual London Marathon won’t have the same atmosphere as a big event, we have set up supporters to keep pushing him along and motivated. We want our dear site manager Paul to enjoy the process. The supporters will be at the project to start him off and welcome him back, as well as points along the route in groups of 4.

Following the latest guidance from the Government, we will be wearing masks and practicing 2m social distancing. Our priority is the safety of our runner Paul and all our colleagues supporting him on this virtual challenge.

After running 26.2 miles, to celebrate Paul’s success while he puts his feet up we will have some food in our canteen – there are few things more satisfying in the world than a post-marathon burger (while watching the Kipchoge vs Bekele highlights). This will be distanced also and the attendees remain in their groups for this event, as they would in any restaurant.

To help get the pennies in and helping Paul hit that £2000 target, please donate whatever you can by clicking on the link below and thank you in advance for your donation.

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?pageId=1140231

Kind regards,

Luciana Campos

Social Value & Community Manager