Record sums raised for Sailors’ Society at London Marathon

Outstanding team of runners raise funds in the Year of the Seafarer

The Sailors’ Society praised all of the 30 fantastic fundraisers who together raised a record £44,000 for the global charity by running this year’s Virgin London Marathon The charity says that they are “overwhelmed” by the support they have received this year, and as 2010 is the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Year of the Seafarer - which aims to recognise the hard work of this invisible workforce and raise understanding of the dangers seafarers face – the substantial funds will not only help support seafarers across the globe, but also raise awareness of this initiative. Runners included a team from Inchcape Shipping Services and runners from BP, Carnival UK, Norfolk Lines and Furness Withy. The runners came from all over the globe to take part in the event, some battling through the ash clouds on alternative transportation offered by Norfolk Lines to arrive from as far afield as Germany and Singapore. Runners included Captain Richard Spencer who trained on a treadmill whilst at sea and came in with the one of the fastest times for the team at 3hrs 47mins, Ruud Meuldijk who works for Inchcape Shipping Services who completed his twentieth marathon and Tom Story, who had more than just the achievement of completing the race to celebrate after proposing to his girlfriend Charlotte Collard at mile 22 of the course. Jan Webber, Director of Fundraising and Marketing for the Sailors’ Society said: “We are overwhelmed with the support we’ve had this year, and would like to thank all our runners for contributing such a phenomenal amount to our Year of the Seafarer initiative. They’re all outstanding individuals. It has been a pleasure to get to know them and we thank them all for their time and dedication in fundraising and training for this challenging event. We’re aiming to raise £1 for every seafarer we aim to support this year, and the funds raised from the marathon will make a huge difference in helping us to provide practical and spiritual support to seafarers across the globe.” To donate to Sailors’ Society on behalf of their runners, visit http://www.justgiving.com/sailorssociety Ends Words: 302

Tags: