MK's marathon runners
25 April 2010, 06:00
Runners from across Milton Keynes and North Buckinghamshire are taking part in the London Marathon today.
The race starts in South London and finishes 26.2 miles later at The Mall in Westminster.
A lot of runners are doing the marathon to raise money for a charity.
26-year-old Lucy Swannell from Wolverton is running for Willen Hospice. She told us why:
"Willen are such an important charity. I think everyone who lives in Milton Keynes either knows someone who's been treated there or knows someone who's been touched by them. I lost my Grandad two years ago - he was cared for at Willen. And the care they receive there is just outstanding. It was important for me as well to support a local charity"
Lucy is on target to raise around £2,000 for Willen Hospice and is hoping to finish the run in around five-and-a-half hours. She told us how she thinks she'll feel when she crosses the finish line:
"Emotional! I think I'll be a wreck! I'll probably be in a bit of pain, but I'll just be really, really happy that I managed to do it."
Click here to listen to the full interview with Lucy
This marathon will be the fourth one that Sam Parkes - who's 36 and from Monkston - has run. She's also raising money for Willen Hospice and told Heart the time she's hoping for:
"I'm very much hoping for four-and-a-half hours this year. So far with all the training races I've done and all the training I've done I am on track for that so hopefully, fingers crossed, there'll be nothing that will stop me getting that time this year."
And despite having done the run before, that doesn't make it any the less special for her:
"I'm very, very excited. I know that I'll get emotional on the day, because I always do. And there's lots of wonderful people that you meet that have such brilliant stories, it's going to be an incredible day."
Turan Turan (pictured)- who's 48 and from Bletchley is running in a fireman's uniform for the MS Society, which helps and supports young adults suffering from multiple sclerosis.
Turan said: “This charity carries out important research in identifying the causes and controls of multiple sclerosis. It’s unbelievable how many young adults are affected by this central nervous system condition and I would like to do my bit to help them.”
Other people running from Milton Keynes include:
Sunita Sudra - running for the Georges Malaika Foundation
Richard Brydon - running for MacIntyre Housing Association
Budhi Chilkoti, Kehinde Aluko, Steve Bush and Mark Nilski - who are all MBA students at Cranfield University - are running for Vitalise - a charity that provides breaks for people with disabilities and those who support them.
Annie Winterbourn from Furzton - running for Toybox