The London Marathon takes place today and only one royal has ever entered the gruelling challenge and completed it And not only that, she helped set a world record
It’s a gruelling test of endurance for superfit runners – and today thousands of them will be trying to complete all 26 miles of the London Marathon in the fastest time possible.
The Royal Family boasts several members with sporty credentials, however only one has actually completed tough race – and not only did she finish the route, she also set a record. That royal is Princess Beatrice, who ran the race in 2010 for her mother Sarah Ferguson’s charity Children in Crisis. Beatrice was one of 34 runners who joined together to form a human caterpillar and were tied to each other while running the route.
Among the others taking were part were her then-boyfriend Dave Clarke and friends Sam and Holly Branson. Beatrice donned a fluorescent tutu and sweatbands for the race and was pictured cheering with her medal after crossing the finishing line. And impressively, the group broke the record for being the most people to finish a marathon while tied together.
Although they’ve never personally run the marathon, both the Prince and Princess of Wales did make a special appearance at the event in 2017. The couple cheered on participants from a water station as they helped to drum up support for the ‘Heads Together’ mental health charity.
They dished out high-fives and selfies to the crowds, having earlier started the event by pressing a large red button. However, they got a little more than they bargained for as they handed out water to parched athletes – as runners squirted them with their bottles Some of the 39,000 stopped for handshakes and others for selfies but when a few decided to spray water they did not look amused as some landed on their jackes.
Meanwhile, this year, it has been revealed that more than £30 million has been donated to 18,000 London runners via the JustGiving fundraising platform. The amount is on course to break fundraising records as the most ever raised for a one-day mass-participation event in the UK, it was predicted.
The £30 million is 20 per cent more than the amount raised by fundraisers on the platform this time last year. The most common types of charities that people are running for on JustGiving relate to cancer, heart disease, mental health, Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Last year, ahead of the race, a total of £39 million was raised by marathon participants on the fundraising site, with £4 million donated after the event. The fundraising platform is predicting that fundraisers on JustGiving will raise a record-breaking amount for their chosen charities this year.
