Mark runs the London Marathon in memory of dear friend

Leading their inspiring team was Mark Rogers, who powered through the 26.2 miles in the sweltering heat to cross the finish line in an extraordinary time of 2:58:45. What an achievement!

Mark was running in memory of his friend Andy, who was cared for by the wonderful team at the Horton’s Brodey Cancer Centre.

Speaking about why he signed up to the event, Mark said: “As soon as I qualified, I decided I would run for the Brodey Centre, where a good friend of mine, Andy Stott, was having treatment. He was such a big supporter of my running.

"Very sadly he passed away just before Christmas 2024. So I ran in his memory.

"London was by far the toughest marathon I have ever run, I was talking out loud - telling Andy 'we have got this mate, we can do it'. I ran up the Mall seeing the clock slowly just ticking over three hours as per the gun time.

“I felt I had let everyone down. My goal was a sub-three for Andy. Then I got my official time confirmed at 2hrs 58mins 45sec. I was delighted. My JustGving page boomed in the last few hours of race day, and together we raised over £2,286.00

"It means so much that this money will go directly to the Brodey Centre and help other people in the future. That was always the goal, and we did it. I felt broken emotionally and physically, but it was well worth it.”

Claire Hughes, Events Officer at the Hospitals Charity, said: "We’re so incredibly proud of everyone in our team for giving it their all, for their team spirit, for encouraging each other and for choosing our charity to run for."