Campaign for 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon celebrates unifying spirit of marathon in uncertain times
On Sunday 3 October, the Virgin Money London Marathon will return to its iconic central London course 889 days after it was last held in April 2019. On the same day, up to 50,000 people around the world will take on the 26.2 miles on the course of their choice in the virtual event.
The We Run Together campaign will celebrate this landmark day and the joy it will bring to many thousands of people after 18 months of uncertainty living through the pandemic.
To mark the launch of We Run Together, a powerful and beautiful short film featuring the faces of 55 participants from this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon, with words written and narrated by spoken word artist and rapper John Bernard, has been released.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “Sunday 3 October will be an extraordinary day in our history and our We Run Together campaign captures perfectly how emotional and wonderful it will be.
“Back in 1981, my father Chris Brasher and John Disley created the London Marathon to show how the family of humankind can be united and ‘to have fun and provide some happiness and a sense of achievement in a troubled world.’ This year, that is more important than ever before.
“On Sunday 3 October, wherever people are running their marathon – whether it be on the streets of London, or anywhere else in the world as part of the virtual event – they will do it together. That is what makes the London Marathon so special. We are one family. We Run Together.”
The participants featured in the film will all be running on Sunday 3 October. Each has their own story to tell from the past 18 months and each has their own reason to run. All are part of the We Run Together campaign.
Among those included are:
- Key workers including Iona Simpson, a midwife who is running for the children’s charity Tommy’s plus four Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust workers: Jo Gennari, Linda Machakaire, Jonathan Bird and Bunmi Ogunlesi
- Claire Nash and Wayne Flanagan, who are running in memory of their 10-day-old baby Jade, who died eight months ago
- Chris Johnson, a father of three with incurable cancer who is raising money for Children With Cancer UK
- Members of running groups including Runderbolts, Run Dem Crew, Emancipated Run Crew and Track Mafia.
- Rajinder Singh, the 73-year-old skipping Sikh.
- Oldest runners Ken Jones, 88, and Eileen Noble, 87.
- London Marathon Charitable Trust 40th anniversary runners, including Mark Underwood and Michael Adamson.
- Elite athletes including British stars Charlotte Purdue and David Weir, plus reigning Virgin Money London Marathon elite women’s champion and world record holder Brigid Kosgei.
- Macmillan Cancer Support – the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon Charity of the Year is represented by their runner, Ewen Wilson
John Bernard is a spoken word artist and rapper who has been a finalist on BBC 1Xtra and BBC Asian Network’s Words First programme. He was born in London and now lives in Coventry. His work examines issues of social commentary, youth empowerment, faith and purpose.
The 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon will take place on Sunday 3 October. It is set to be the largest marathon ever staged anywhere in the world, with up to 50,000 runners on the traditional course from Greenwich to The Mall and up to 50,000 participants completing the 26.2 miles on the course of their choice anywhere in the world between 00:00 and 23:59:59 BST. It will be televised live on BBC TV and broadcast around the globe.