Well done George!

Massive congratulations to George, who ran the London Marathon for us, raising £8,000! He is the son-in-law-to-be of our Deborah who has worked for Age UK Barnet for nearly 20 years! George overcame injuries and trained in the snow, wind and rain which all paid off on the day with an impressive time of 3 hours 46 minutes.

How it started

After running the Royal Parks half for us in 2018, George wanted to support us again and asked Deborah if he could run for us in the London marathon. We were delighted, of course – and happy to give him the place we were offered by the organisers.

Preparing for the day

While George was pounding the streets, building up his miles and trying to keep injury free for the event, Deborah and Age UK Barnet volunteer Carolyn were focusing on how to support and encourage George during the event. They were going to make banners.

Banners

'I made the ‘Go Go George banner with my grandson Harry,’ says Deborah. ‘We chose colours from the Age UK Barnet logo and Harry added the sequins.’

‘Carolyn, whose daughter was also running on the day, bought material and cut letters out of transfer paper but some failed to iron so Carolyn and her son’s partner had to colour them all in!’

On the day

‘It was an exhausting day for us bystanders!’ says Deborah.  ‘More than 25 family and friends turned up to support George!

‘The signal to track George stopped after three miles so we were a bit anxious. Then we discovered he was on Tower bridge - just a few minutes from us!!

‘It was very exciting to see him. We waved our pom poms and ensured banners were in his view. This was at mile 12 and he looked comfortable.’

‘We saw him again at Tower Hill - mile 23 - looking a little tired he but managed a smile.

‘We finally caught up with him with his medal at the Horseguards Parade meeting point.’

All of George’s family and friends – as well as the staff at Age UK Barnet - are incredibly proud of his efforts – not only the fact that he raised so much to support the work that we do, but plus all the hard work he put into training, going out several mornings a week before work and battling injuries.

And George? How was it for you?

George enjoyed the fact that training gave him the chance to run more - despite having to juggle the training sessions around the demands of work and starting a new role. And did all that training pay off?  'Without the training, and even though I'm fit, I'd never have made it under 4 hours,' he says. 'The marathon really starts from mile 20 - the final 6.2 miles are a case of mind over matter!.'

But would he do it again? 'I always said I wouldn't but it was a fantastic day and the support of the crowd and the chance to run past some of London's most iconic landmarks is amazing,' says George. 'So maybe I would.But I'd like to improve my time as well as raising money for charity.'

If you or anyone you know would like to run for us, please get in touch. It's a fantastic way to support our work and achieve something amazing at the same time. If you or anyone you know would like to run for us and have a particular race in mind, do get in touch. Just email karen.williamson@ageukbarnet.org.uk