London Marathon: Runners set to raise more than £50,000
Fundraisers will be out in force on Sunday as they take on the famous 26.2 mile course for charity.
The community’s runners will be out in force on Sunday as they take on the 26.2 mile course for a variety of good causes.
This year’s run will truly be a family affair for The Barr’s – seeing that four of them will be taking on the famous 26.2 mile challenge. Jonathan and Lauren will be celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary on the day of the race – 22 April – with this being his seventh race – and second since recovering from a second bout of chemotherapy treatment for Testicular Cancer. Running alongside them will be daughters Sabrina, 24, and Sadie, who turned 18 three weeks ago.
Raising money for North London Hospice – where Jonathan’s mother Valerie passed away in 2015, this will be Jonathan’s 18th race and his ninth post-chemo. He said: “I’m back for my seventh London Marathon, it will be Lauren’s sixth and a first for my daughters. My son Sam ran in the 2010 race, which means by the end of this one, all the family would have competed in this great event.
Four of Jewish Care’s six runners have been inspired by their grandmas. Lauren Waterman, 26 from Elstree will run in memory Barbara Waterman, who was a Jewish Care volunteer for nearly 50 years. She said: “My marathon fundraising is all about the community at Jewish Care’s Brenner Centre at Stepney Jewish Community Centre. For more than 47 years, my late grandmother made it her mission to support the community at this centre and to put a smile on the members faces.
“As a lady who lived a tremendous life and was a dedicated volunteer for Jewish Care for 47 years, my decision to run for Jewish Care was easy – a tribute to remember her at her best, and to help contribute to a cause which was so close to her heart. I’m extremely proud to be running in Bubba’s honour.” You can sponsor Lauren by clicking here:
Josh Domb’s grandma Diane, who has lived at Otto Schiff home in Golders Green for two years, has inspired him to run three marathons in the past two years. He said: “A few years ago my grandma started showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. This swiftly progressed into dementia and, in the space of just a couple of years, she went from being lucid, sharp and independent, to being unable to do so many of the things that we take for granted. From the moment we first reached out to Jewish Care they have been absolutely brilliant, I have always taken huge comfort from the standard of care that the team at Jewish Care provide to her on so many levels. It makes the world of difference when you see someone in those circumstances clapping along to music, tapping their foot to a beat and, occasionally, smiling and laughing.” Mich Preston, Sarah Myers, Chris Ezekiel and James Fox will also be running for the charity. You can sponsor Josh and read his blog by clicking here:
James Fox, 28, says: “In looking after my grandma, I was able to see first-hand the fantastic work that Jewish Care do to support so many people and families in our community. I felt utterly compelled to run the marathon to show my appreciation to Jewish Care for all that they do, in loving memory of my grandma Renee and grandpa Ben. They were always so much fun to be around, and unceasingly dedicated to their family and each other. I miss and love them very much.”
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Chris Ezekiel will be taking on his second marathon and also has close ties to the charity. Running in memory of his grandparents, Lily and Raymond Ezekiel, who were cared for at Jewish Care’s Vi & John Reuben’s House in Ilford until Lily passed away last year, he says, “Jewish Care looked after my Nan and Grandad so well so running the marathon to help others in our community who rely on their services is a way to show my appreciation. Running time can be a great time to think. I’ve done a lot of training recently and at the end of my runs, I often find that I’ve thought about things in a different way and come up with ideas I know I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Daniel Carmel-Brown, Jewish Care’s Director of Fundraising & Marketing said, “It’s moving to hear how Lauren and Josh have been inspired by their grandmas to run the marathon. I’d like to wish our team of dedicated runners the best of luck in this year and thank them all for their support.”
Children’s charity Emunah will have four runners taking part. Dan Brazil and Sarah Tarzi will both be competing in their first race, alongside Claire Gothelf, while Flora Frank will enter under the Norwood banner, but also donate to Emunah. British Emunah director Deborah Nathan said: “We are grateful to our runners for taking on the challenge of the London Marathon 2018 while raising funds for at-risk children in Israel.”
Donate by clicking here:
Marc Cohen is one of nine runners taking part for Camp Simcha. Having completed the Manchester marathon last week, the 31-year-old has already raised £5,400 for the charity, which is supporting his four-year-old nephew Jake who is receiving treatment for neuroblastoma.
Not initially planning to run on Sunday, he said: “When Jake was diagnosed I started running a lot more again as I find it a real help.I also wanted to do something for Camp Simcha as they have been incredible to my family. I decided to do the double marathon to up the challenge and to raise extra money.”
He will be joining Abraham Amselem, Isaac Bentata, Yiddy Gertner, Katherine Hinchcliffe, Evan Morris, Jonny Phillips, Mel Ross and Michael Seitler. You can sponsor Camp Simcha’s runners by clicking here:
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Norwood will have 21 runners taking part on Sunday, including Adam Waters, 28, who will be taking part to raise money for the charity and honour his late grandfather Dennis Temple, who grew up at the Jewish orphanage in West Norwood, before going on to fly for the RAF in WWII.
Jonathan Warren, who turns 37 this week, has a family connection to the charity, as his 42-year-old sister-in-law Sonia Paitkus has cerebral palsy and has lived in Ravenswood since she was nine. He says: “The care and love Sonia receives are brilliant and she has a great quality of life. She’s been to Paris with Norwood and a couple of years ago they threw her a 40th birthday party that was such an amazing celebration. I’m really proud to run for Norwood, and when I mention the charity you can sense the esteem others hold it in too. People are often very happy to donate when I saw who I’m raising money for, so that’s been great!”
Joshua Schwartz’s brother-in-law Marc Lebe, lived with Norwood, but sadly passed away last year. Joshua says: “Marc was an amazing character who really changed the life of everyone around him. His caring nature combined with his unique sense of humour endeared him to everyone and he made a long-lasting difference to everyone who ever met him. Norwood made the last few years of Marc’s life meaningful and fulfilled.”
Michele Lobl will be raising money for Jami, a charity very close to her heart. Choosing to run for the mental health service for the Jewish and wider community, she said: “To coincide with my 60th birthday year I’ve decided to run my first marathon. Not just as a gift to prove to myself I can do it, but to raise money, and awareness for a cause so personal to my family that often goes unnoticed in the media and wider world. Most people with a debilitating Mental Health issue struggle silently and we are oblivious to their internal pain they deal with on a daily basis.
Helped by her daughter, she has so far raised more than £14,000.00, including Gift Aid and hopes to have reached £15,000 by Sunday. “Every pound will mean a huge amount to me and will keep me moving forwards through each mile helping to erase the stigma associated with Mental Illness and raising much needed funds”, she says.
You can sponsor Michele by clicking here:
Micah Smith will be raising money for the Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum, a UK charity supporting reconciliation projects in Israel and Palestine, spearheaded by bereaved families on both sides of the conflict. He said: “I’m thrilled to be raising money and awareness for the Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum.”
Nightingale Hammerson has ten runners, including 65-year-old John Doyle, who has run nearly 40 marathons, but his first since 2010 and for Nightingale Hammerson.
Kisharon has six runners, including father-and-son Sam and Bernard Fromson, and Ron Korczak, who will be taking part in his first fundraiser for the charity and has so far raised in excess of £10,000.
And finally, Daniel Bankover will be running for Starlight, a charity that supports terminally ill children. Sponsor him by clicking here:
Are you taking part in Sunday’s race? Send in your pictures, finishing times & quotes to andrews@thejngroup.com to be part of our post-Marathon coverage in next week’s Jewish News
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