Date: 14 April 2008

Marathon heroes raise £80,000 for Norwood

After the heat and humidity experienced last year, participants in the 2008 Flora London Marathon on Sunday 13 April had to contend with heavy rain and swirling winds as they pounded the streets of London. However, this wasn’t enough to dampen the mood of the 20 heroes who completed the 26 mile course to raise money for Norwood, the UK’s leading Jewish charity for children and families. Norwood once again fielded the largest number of runners of all the Community’s charities and not only did they clock some fantastic finish times, they also managed to raise a phenomenal £80,000 which will go towards supporting children and adults living with learning disabilities or coping with social difficulties.

London Marathon 2008 runner - Lee Jacobs (3h 23m)

London Marathon 2008 runner - Kevin Wooton (3h 59m)

Kevin Wootton of Harlow, Essex took part dressed as Mr Incredible. He achieved a fantastic time of 3h59m and raised £2,500 for Norwood. He said: "The whole day was amazing. I started feeling the pain after 21 miles, but the thought of raising money for a charity as fantastic as Norwood kept me going to the end." Lee Jacobs, from West Hampstead, finished in 3h23m. He has so far raised £16,000 for Norwood and hopes to reach an amazing £20,000. He said: "I had a fantastic day and am delighted to be raising funds for Norwood."

Flora Frank from Edgware, a great-grandmother and power walker who took part in her 17th marathon in aid of Norwood, finished in just under 6 hours and raised a total of £12,000, the large majority of which will go to Norwood. She said: "It was an indescribable feeling. The atmosphere was electric and I am grateful to G-d that he gave me the energy to finish. Norwood is such a wonderful charity and I am so pleased to have raised money to help them carry out their vital services. I also dedicate my run to the memory of Daniel Sacks."

London Marathon 2008 runner - Ronnie Harris(5h 26m)

Ronnie Harris from Wimbledon is a Norwood trustee and spent 10 years as Norwood's Fundraising Chair. He has been a huge Norwood supporter over the years and took part in his 7th marathon for the charity. His time was 5h26m and he aims to raise well over £30,000 once all of his money is in. He said: "It was a very hard marathon due to the rain and getting severe hiccups from mile 14 but nevertheless another fantastic event. Helping a great charity such as Norwood to achieve its aims in trying to give everyone a chance in life brings a smile to my face."
The best finishing time of all Norwood runners was 2h54m, achieved by Andrea Fraquelli of Hampstead.

Ian Tate, Norwood’s Head of Challenges, was full of admiration for the 20 dedicated Norwood challengers. He said: “Our runners have shown incredible drive and commitment, both in terms of their training and their fundraising. I’d like to thank them all for raising a fantastic amount of money that will help us to continue to support vulnerable children and families in our Community."

London Marathon 2008 runner - Flora Frank (5h 59m)

Below is a list of the Norwood runners and their finishing times.

James Altman, 5h53m
Robert Dagul, 4h09m
Flora Frank, 5h59m
Andrea Fraquelli, 2h54m
Simon Goldstein, 3h37m
Ronnie Harris, 5h26m
Nigel Henry, 3h37m
Daniel Hertz, 3h59m
Barry Hollis, 4h21m
Paul Huberman, 4h06m
Lee Jacobs, 3h23m
Daniel Lewis, 5h22m
Daniel Lipshaw, 4h08m
Simon Lipshaw, 4h08m
Lillian Mayer, 4h45m
Neville Newman, 4h15m
David Rosenfeld, 3h54m
Andrew Shaw, 4h21m
Matt Welck, 4h38m
Kevin Wooton, 3h59m

For further information please contact David Wosner, Public Relations Manager at Norwood on 020 8420 6942 or email david.wosner@norwood.org.uk