Alzheimer's Society supporters run for the sun in the Virgin London Marathon

Among them was 75 year old Daphne Hathaway, who completed the 26.2 mile course in 7 hours and 2 minutes despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer of the bone marrow last year.  Daphne's mother, father and mother-in-law both died with Alzheimer's disease and she cares for her husband, Andy, who was diagnosed around ten years ago.

Daphne said,

'I thoroughly enjoyed the marathon, everything worked well except that some of the letters fell off my running top which was quite amusing.  People called out 'Come On Daph  E', or later still, 'What sort of a name is Daph?'.  The support and encouragement from the crowd, and particularly the Alzheimer's Society cheer points, was marvellous.'

Leading the Alzheimer's Society team were Bucks Fizz chart topper, Jay Aston, and lead singer with Kaiser Chiefs, Ricky Wilson.  Jay crossed the finish line in 6 hours, 25 minutes in honour of her father, Edward, who died recently with Alzheimer's disease.  Unfortunately the heat proved too much for the indie band front man, and a disappointed Ricky collapsed just two miles from the Mall.

Over 36,500 people took part in the event which saw Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai win the race with a record breaking time of 2 hours and 4 minutes.  

Alzheimer's Society National Events Manager, Anna McCaughley, said,

'Congratulations to everyone who took part - it's a fantastic achievement.  We're on target to raise £350,000 thanks to all the people who ran for us and the volunteers who turned out to cheer them on.  Every penny will go towards supporting people with dementia and their carers.'