Generous runners raise thousands for charity

People from across the Midlands donned their running shoes and pounded the streets of the capital, raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity in the annual London Marathon.

Many took part in the 26.2-mile event in memory of lost loved ones, while others simply wanted to do something good for charity.

Wolverhampton man Tim Astill, aged 52, ran in honour of his wife Jan, who has a brain tumour. Mr Astill, from Penn, has already raised around £5,000 for charity Brain Tumour UK.

Students at Heath Park School, Wolverhampton, where Mrs Astill used to teach before retiring due to ill health, also raised money for the fund. Mr Astill, a health and safety manager for Castrol, said: "We are positive and try to enjoy the time we have."

Also running for Brain Tumour UK was production support manager Robert Reynolds, 37, from Broadway, Codsall, who raised £1,200. He said: "One of my best friends had a brain tumour a few years ago. He had a lot of support and care from Brain Tumour UK and this was my way of giving something back to them."

A brave Rowley Regis grandmother-of-five battled through the marathon despite suffering with fallen arches, diabetes and osteoporosis. Linda Smith, 65, of Summer Road, power-walked the marathon instead of running and completed the course in just over seven hours. She raised £1,200 for Visually Impaired Children Taking Action.

Wednesfield teacher Gill Mitchell ran the London Marathon in five hours three minutes, just one week after completing the Paris Marathon. The Year 6 teacher at Elston Hall Primary School ran for Parkinson's UK in honour of her mother. She has so far raised nearly £1,000.

Tennis coach Kirk Woodall, 25, of Iverley, raised more than £5,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care in memory of his father, Graham. Meanwhile, Mary Bawn, 35, from Wheaton Aston, was one of 20 running for the PDSA and raised more than £1,000.

Brewood woman Beccy Jones-Reading – who will be an Olympic Torch Bearer when the torch passes through Wolverhampton – has so far raised £695 for The Progressive Supernucleur Palsy Association.

Former St Peter's Collegiate School pupil Adrian Walker completed the marathon in four hours 37 minutes. He only started training after Christmas and raised £1,000 for the

Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. Matt Johnson, aged 38, of Rowley Regis, took part in the 26-mile run and raised £1,429 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in memory of his wife Karen. Roofer Chris Thompson, aged 39, from West Bromwich ran in aid of BrainTumour UK, raising a total of £750. Jake Milovsorov, 23, raised £1,200 for Epilepsy Action.

Dudley South MP Chris Kelly joined the runners and raised more than £1,000 for Action Heart and the Dudley Group of Hospitals charity. Bricklayer Jason Corns, aged 42, of Brooklyn Grove, Coseley, raised almost £200 for Action Heart based at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital, while self-employed property worker Mark Grimmett, 42, of Bromley Lane, Kingswinford, raised more than £1,500 for Sense. Valerie Smith, aged 51, of Calewood Road, Brierley Hill was raising money for Help for Heroes.

John Warr, aged 35, who works for Dudley Council, chose to run for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. "I had to raise a minimum of £1500 but managed to exceed this and will hopefully raise more than £2,000 by the end," he said.

Sarah Oakley, aged 37, of New Rowley Road, Dudley, chose to run for Cancer Research UK and has so far raised £3,081.

Kidderminster College worker and mother-of two Anne-Marie Simms, 34, raised more than £2,500 for Worcester's St Richard's Hospice.

Nurse Jane Pugh, 44, from Kingswinford ran her 11th London Marathon for Action Heart in four hours and eight minutes. And Carl Bishop, 33, from Stourbridge, raised more than £4,000 for Nystagmus Network.

Steven Lawley, 45, of Brown Road, Darlaston, raised more than £1,500 for prostate and breast cancer charities.

Matthew Mason, aged 25, of Elm Street, Willenhall, ran in memory of his little brother, raising £1,900 for Children with Cancer UK.

Katrina Wyke, 39, of Bloxwich Road North, Willenhall, raised about £2,400 for Action for Children.

And Joanne Rasmin, aged 45, of Pavillion Close, Aldridge, raised more than £2,500 for St Giles Walsall Hospice and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Plucky regional runners and their timings

Tim Astill, 52, Penn, 05:14:21;

Mary Bawn, 35, Wheaton Aston, 04:28:00;

Carl Bishop, 33, Stourbridge, 03:42:00;

Sally Burns, 35, Rugeley 04:30:00;

Neil Burrell, 31, Stafford, 04:41:00;

Steve Clark, 49, Norton, Stourbridge, 04:16:00;

Adrian Cooper, Penkridge, 04:17:00;

Jason Corns, 42, Coseley, 03:11:18;

Rebecca Fairfield, 21, Wednesfield, 04:42:54;

John Gallivan, Lichfield, 07:30:00;

Richard Griffiths, 19, Tettenhall, 03:44:00;

Mark Grimmett, 42, Kingswinford, 04:38:00;

Matt Johnson, 38, Rowley Regis, 04:41:27;

Beccy Jones-Reading, 43, Brewood, 04:46:00;

Dudley South MP Chris Kelly, 33, 04:17:55;

Steven Lawley, 45, Darlaston, 04:00:54;

James Lloyd , 33, Willenhall, 04:25:19;

Matthew Mason, 25, Willenhall, 04:57:58;

Trudie McGuinness, 35, Penkridge, 04:45:00;

Jake Milovsorov, 23, Wolverhampton; 03:47:00;

Gill Mitchell, Wednesfield, 05:03:00;

Sarah Oakley, 37, Dudley, 05:25:00;

Desmond Oliver, 51, Wolverhampton, 04:59:53;

Jane Pugh, 44, Kingswinford, 04:08:00;

Joanne Rasmin, 45, Aldridge, 05:08:00;

Robert Reynolds, 37, Codsall, 04:09:00;

Paul Rochfort, 32, Cannock, 03:00:28;

Anne-Marie Simms, 34, Kidderminster, 04:35:00;

Linda Smith, 65; Rowley Regis, 07:31:33;

Valerie Smith, 51, Brierley Hill , 05:54:00;

Chris Thompson, 39, West Bromwich, 04:33:35;

Adrian Walker, Wolverhampton, 04:37:07;

John Warr, 35, Dudley, 03:50:16;

Kirk Woodall, 25, Iverley, near Kidderminster, 03:32:20;

Katrina Wyke, 39, Willenhall, 04:26:00.

Andrew Barron, Gnosall, 05:48:03

Steve Smith, Cannock, 04:51