Ten runners took on one of the world’s most iconic marathons in aid of Rockinghorse.
The London Marathon is one of those events that seems to capture the imagination of everyone involved. Whether it’s the runners, spectators or even those of us watching from home, there’s something magical about the atmosphere that has a real impact on us.
And this year’s race was no different. The ten runners taking part in aid of us this year all had an amazing experience and some inspiring stories about why they were running to fundraise for us.
Special reasons for running
Caroline Williams, who has so far raised nearly £4,000 said, “My nephew Barney was born prematurely at just 25 weeks and was cared for by the amazing team of Doctors and Nurses on the Trevor Mann baby unit at Brighton Hospital. I ran the Brighton marathon last year to raise money for the Rockinghorse and wanted to continue my fundraising for such an incredible cause.
“The crowds were out of this world and helped us all through. It was such a privilege to be able to run for the Rockinghorse and so humbling to see and meet others with their own stories and reasons for running. It is an experience that will stay with me forever. Thank you so much for the opportunity to run.”
Amanda Middlewick, another runner who has raised over £2,500 so far, was blown away by the experience saying, “Running the London Marathon was every bit as special, crazy and emotional as I thought it would be! Rockinghorse Children’s Charity is very close to my heart, and I feel very grateful and lucky that I was given a place to run and raise money for this incredible charity.
“The support from Emma and the team at Rockinghorse has been amazing, from start to end they have been so encouraging. The marathon truly brings people together, the encouragement and generosity of my family and friends has been so amazing! I can’t thank everyone enough for all their love and support.”
Lindsey Cotterill-Hay, who raised over £2,200, had a very special reason for supporting us, “In 2013 our twin sons were born unexpectedly at 26 weeks’ gestation. Soon after birth they were transferred to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU). We as a family have so much gratitude the everyone involved in treating and caring for our wonderful twin boys and who contributed to the safe running of the various hospital wards we found ourselves on. I think if I ran a thousand marathons for Rockinghorse it wouldn’t be enough!
“What a day we had in London. That heat was intense and combined with the higher number of runners it was definitely a more challenging race than my previous marathons. But it was great to see you folks at the cheer point and gave me something to focus on after seeing a friend at Cutty Sark so thank you!”
Our Supporter Engagement Manager Emma Henderson went along on the day to cheer on all our runners. She positioned herself at mile 11 in Bermondsey and thanks to the event tracking app, she was able to see exactly where all our runners were and to spot them as they approached.
Emma said, “I’m so proud of every single one of our Rockinghorse runners who took on the London Marathon in such scorching weather!
“It was amazing to see them whizz past the cheer point and give them some well-earned high fives, and they’ve raised an incredible amount that will make such a big difference to babies, children, young people and families all across Sussex.”
Your chance to take part
If you’ve been inspired to take on a marathon and would like the chance to take part in 2026, we have a small number of places available and we would love for you to run for Rockinghorse!
Applications will be open until 6 July, and we will be allocating places in August. Apply on our London Marathon page here.
We always have lots of challenge events going on that you can sign up for to fundraise for us, so why not take a look at our events page to find out more or contact Emma at emma@rockinghorse.org.uk or call us on 01273 330044.
