Although they have already completed their marathons, there is still time to sponsor four people who have to date raised more than £5,000 for Home-Start South East Dorset.

Christchurch resident Hugh Rayner completed the event in London, whilst Jody Frost, Philippa Duffin and Clare Stone took part in the Virtual Virgin Money London Marathon event.

Hugh is an experienced runner but was excited about completing the 26.2 mile Virgin Money London Marathon for the first time, being part of 50,000 participants running the traditional route around the city. Jody, Philippa and Clare took part in the virtual event, which first debuted in 2020. This allowed participants to take on the world’s greatest marathon on the course of their choice from midnight to 11.59pm on Sunday 3 October, wherever they were on the planet. All the runners became part of the Guinness World Record-breaking biggest marathon ever staged anywhere in the world.

Clare completed the virtual marathon in five hours and 40 minutes. The heavens opened for the last five minutes just as Jody crossed his finishing line. Philippa‘s sister Sas kept her company via her bike and cycled 80km.

Philippa said: “It was a good day and I felt quite emotional. Thank you to Home-Start for giving me the opportunity to do it. The biggest thanks go to everyone who sponsored me.”

Hugh said: “It was pretty special to be up there in London, and I don’t think you can forget a day like that. I am super grateful for the chance to represent Home-Start South East Dorset. I hope we did the charity proud.”

Caroline Pope, community & corporate engagement manager at Home-Start South East Dorset said: “We can’t thank our brilliant runners enough. They all worked so hard in their training and made us all so proud. They raised a fantastic amount of money which will make such a difference to the lives of local children, whose childhood can’t wait. The coronavirus pandemic has placed even greater strain on families who were already isolated, facing hardship, abuse, disability and mental health challenges. We know our work makes a life-changing difference, but we can’t continue to do it without fundraising support from inspiring local people like Hugh, Jody, Clare and Philippa and everyone who has donated to support them.”

Sponsor the runners at:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PhilippaDuffin

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JodyFrost

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HughRayner

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ClareStone12

Home-Start South East Dorset supports families living across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, as well as the Purbecks and areas as far north as Cranborne and as far west as Wareham. Since 1995 they have helped over 3,500 local families and supported over 10,000 children through a network of over 600 amazing volunteers. It costs Home-Start South East Dorset approximately £33.25 per week to support a family with specialist one-to-one volunteer support. To make a donation to Home-Start, or to find out more about accessing their help, please visit https://homestartsoutheastdorset.org.uk/.