The London Marathon is an iconic event to be part of and one people remember forever – it’s also a wonderful way to raise money and this year ECHO will be the recipient of thousands of pounds thanks to the people who chose to run and raise money for us.

We are really grateful – the reality is we receive no government or NHS funding to carry out our work and we therefore do need to raise money in order to continue supporting heart families.

This year five people ran in the London Marathon for ECHO: Shaun Beckett, Michael Crouch, Graeme Lodge, James Reeve and Sonia Thandi – all raising thousands of pounds so that we can continue to provide support to heart families.

Sonia even managed to complete the race having sustained an injury – we wish her all the best for a speedy recovery and thank her for her dedication – along with everyone else who ran for ECHO.

Seeing as I was partaking in my 2nd London Marathon it was mixed emotions really as I was initially trying to compare it with the first one, as I was doing it for my daughter Rosie-Mai who passed away at the Evelina on boxing day 2013. In the considerably hotter weather this time it was a lot harder but I beat my previous time too. I found it a buzz like before and as ECHO is extremely close to my heart I'm happy I finished it and raised a good amount of money to a fantastic cause.

Shaun

What a day!!!!! 2nd marathon for ECHO completed. Quite tough this year due to ankle troubles but glad to have got round and experienced another top day in London. Completed in 4hours 36min 44sec...... bit gutted as I missed my personal best by one minute. Legs are in bits and I'm happy to say that is my last one.  ?

Massive THANK YOU to all of you who sponsored me I am forever grateful. £3303.38 raised for an amazing children's heart charity.

Michael

Running in the marathon was an amazing experience, although it left me a bit sore! Glad to have exceeded my £2,500 target for ECHO.

Graeme

Running the London Marathon for ECHO was an amazing experience for me and I'm proud that we were able to raise a little bit for a cause that we really care about. Being a part of something so big where everyone was so supportive of each other was like nothing I'd ever done before, and the crowd kept me going when at times I thought I couldn't do it. The best part of the day though was seeing my friends and family cheering me on and finally being able to hug them after.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to run. It really was fantastic.

James

A big thank you also to everyone who came to support all of the runners at this year’s marathon – we know that seeing thousands of people clapping and cheering really does make a huge difference to them.

Massive THANK YOU to all of you who sponsored me I am forever grateful. £3303.38 raised for an amazing children's heart charity.

Michael