London Marathon Events (LME) has today invited all UK charities to recruit participants for its redesigned virtual fundraising event.
LME launched its virtual event, TCS London Marathon MyWay, in 2020 but is allowing people who take part in it to fundraise for any UK charity for the first time this year.
The virtual event runs alongside the main in-person London Marathon, on 21 April this year, with participants given the day’s 24 hours to walk, jog or run the 26.2-mile distance.
Hugh Brasher, LME event director, said: “Every year we work with 2,000 charity partners but it has been impossible for us to meet the huge demand from charities to be involved in the event.
"We created the virtual event during the pandemic when it was not possible to stage the mass event on the streets of London – and set a Guinness World Record for the most participants in a remote marathon.
“In subsequent years, our partner charities have achieved great fundraising return from the involvement in the virtual event – averaging in excess of 7:1.
"Now, in this fifth edition, we want to create an event which offers every charity in the UK the opportunity to be involved and engage their wider supporter database to take on the challenge together on the day – that might be walking together in groups over the course of the day, with regular breaks, right up to jogging or running the full distance in one go.”
Participants must be over 18 and are not allowed to complete the distance using a treadmill, bicycle or scooter.
Samaritans is the London Marathon’s charity of the year and will be utilising its branches across the country at official start and finish points for its supporters taking part in the MyWay event.
Entries to the virtual event cost £30 for UK participants, with everyone sent a personal official marathon number prior to the day and a biodegradable finish line tape.
Everyone who completes the event will be sent an official London Marathon New Balance T-shirt and a finisher medal.
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