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London Marathon - Roy Castle Foundation and Volunteering
Alice in 7V sent this report:
On Sunday I had the most amazing day in London, volunteering with The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation at the London Marathon.
Even though it was a very early start, and raining, I could not wait to get to London. From the moment the train arrived in London, I could feel the excitement all around me. Because it was the London Marathon, it was free to travel for the day and the platforms were packed with runners and spectators. I had never seen so many people waiting for trains. We made our way to Shadwell station and walked the short distance to the mile 22 marker where we met up with members of The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. They had travelled to London from Liverpool on Saturday, and it was wonderful to finally meet them all in person. I have been involved with them since last year and we had so much to talk about.
Our cheer point was set up with blue flags and banners along the barriers and we were all wearing our RCLCF tops. We had our megaphones at the ready! It felt great to be a part of the team and I couldn't wait for the runners to hear us and see us. I didn't even think about the rain because there was so much going on all around us.
The first racers that came by were the wheelchair racers. They looked so strong, and we cheered as loudly as we could. From that moment, we could not stop cheering, clapping, and using the megaphone and loud clappers to make as much noise as possible.
We were lucky enough to see Sir Mo Farah, as well as runners of all ages and from countries as far as Japan, Peru, Canada, and China. There were lots of runners wearing fancy dress costumes too. I saw a minion, Big Ben, a bone, a rhinoceros, dinosaurs, avatar.
I had planned to take lots of photos, but I didn't actually have time to do anything except cheer. It was amazing to see the never-ending stream of runners and I didn't want to stop clapping; I wanted every runner to know that we were cheering them on.
Every single person that took part should be very proud of themselves. They raised thousands of pounds for hundreds of charities, and many ran for very personal reasons, in memory of their loved ones.
The day went by in a flash! It was a hugely emotional but rewarding day for me. I loved having the opportunity to volunteer with The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and meeting other volunteers at the same time.
