We have three runners taking part in the biggest marathon in the world this Sunday (27th April). Doug Meikle, Tom Speed and Mary Corbett will be among the 56,000 people taking part in the London Marathon.
Last year, the event raised a record-breaking £73.5million for charity and our three champions, who all won their places in the public ballot, have all told us why this year they’re running for the ME Association.
The event will be screened live on BBC1 from 8.30am on Sunday when Gabby Logan will kick off five hours of coverage.
One of the easiest people for the cameras to pick out from the crowd will be Doug Meikle, a 33-year-old chartered accountant from Edinburgh who’s been sporty all his life. At 6ft 6ins, he’ll be hard to miss!
He's running for two charities. They are the MEA because his mum Philippa (61) has lived with ME since her university days and The Scar Free Foundation – for best friend Edward who suffers from a rare condition called Dercum's which cause multiple lumps of fatty tissue to form under the skin which need surgical removal. (There's a note from The Scar Free Foundation at the end of this piece.)
Doug has run the London Marathon once before. He took part in the 2018 event in the middle of a heatwave so he knows the event when it’s at its most gruelling.
Will his height, and his longer stride, give him an advantage on Sunday? Not a bit of it, he says!
Photos show Doug with finisher's medal and wife Laura after the 2018 London Marathon, with his mum Philippa on his wedding day and with Laura after another race.
“I really wish my height was an advantage but unfortunately the opposite is true!
“Most long-distance runners are quite short and whippet-like! Whilst I do have an longer stride length, it sadly doesn't cover for the additional energy and effort required to carry the rest of my large frame around!”
For father-of-three Tom Speed from Cambridgeshire, he treated his outing for us in the London Landmarks Half Marathon earlier this month as a warm-up for the London Marathon.
“I first took part in the London Marathon when I got a ballot place in 2017 and I’ve applied every year since but never got one again until last month. I’ve always tried to do something every year for a charity,” he told us last year.
Tom is running for the MEA because his daughter, Taylor, was diagnosed recently with ME. The family are desperate for research to produce some treatments that really work.
The family went to their caravan at Hemsby on the North Norfolk coast over the school half-term holiday where Tom was able to take a breather before getting back into running mode.
Tom Speed with eldest son Jack, tousle-haired son Clayton and daughter Taylor
Mary Corbett is already one of our fundraising legends!
Aged 67, she’s the founder of the annual ‘Tandem Tart’ time-trial cycling challenge which today is just £500 short of reaching £20,000 for our Ramsay Research Fund.
Mary, who lives with M.E. in Lyndhurst just outside the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, told her local paper this week:
“Knowing my limitations, I set myself a flexible training schedule which allowed two days’ rest before a longer run and two days of payback afterwards.
“I’ve had the usual runner’s niggles, quite a few bugs due to my poor immune system and a flare which kept me indoors for two weeks.
“To help me on the day, I have compiled a list of 26 virtual partners who have inspired and supported me during some difficult times. They will be with me in spirit for each mile during the marathon.”
She told us today that the London Marathon have offered her a space in the Accessibility Tent prior to the off. “It’s supposed to be a quiet space for people with disabilities. It was such an unexpected bonus being contacted by them.”
If you would like to donate to any of these fundraisers, here are the links to their fundraising pages:
Doug Meikle https://www.justgiving.com/team/dougrunslondon
Tom Speed https://www.justgiving.com/page/thomas-speed-1719740351100
Mary Corbett https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/intandemwithme
Mary Corbett (left) and me – presenting the trophy to the winners of her 2024 Tandem Tart cycling time-trial challenge in the New Forest.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
People with ME/CFS who are thinking about any kind of sporting or physical challenge for charity should please first consider their own health needs. The ME Association has a helpful statement here: https://meassociation.org.uk/get-involved/fundraising-important-notice/
We recommend that this statement is also shown to people who are organising events which might involve people with ME/CFS.
Suz Mendus from The Scar Free Foundation, reg charity number 1078666, told us: ” Doug’s our first ever marathon runner. We’re so excited!
“Our link with Dercum’s is that multiple surgeries are required to treat the fatty deposits it causes, which can lead to issues with function, form and psychological wellbeing – the aim of our charity is to fund medical research which will eventually end scarring (and the problems associated with it).”
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Volunteer, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
