London Marathon: Four runners from Mirfield and Upper Hopton hope to raise thousands of pounds for charity by completing the UK's biggest running event

Craig Johnson, James Nichols, Laura Hall and Sophie Edwards will all be heading to the capital for the UK’s biggest running event.

Craig and James, both 32, are friends and training partners who did the Great North Run together and decided to take their running to the next level with the marathon.

They have been pushing and supporting each other to best prepare for the big event and are fundraising for Dementia UK and Meningitis UK respectively, supporting causes that tackle issues which have impacted their families.

Craig is also inspired by his dad, Graham, who was a talented runner and survived a brain haemorrhage a few years ago, with doctors believing that his level of fitness was instrumental in his survival and recovery.

The friends are also organising a charity cricket match later in the year.

Laura, 37, also grew up watching her dad run marathons when she was younger and started to run with him. Laura is now tackling her first marathon and is running on behalf of Cardiomyopathy UK.

She chose the charity after her father-in-law, David, suffered from serious heart problems, and was fitted with a pacemaker.

Her parents will be joining her in London, and David plans to cheer Laura on from home with the rest of the family.

Sophie, aged 20, only started running last year but found enjoyment in the sport straightaway, and will also be tackling her first marathon.

After deferring her place last year due to injury, Sophie is running on behalf of “Together for Short Lives”, a children’s palliative care charity. Her employer, Morrisons Supermarkets, has committed to match any fundraising up to £1,000.

Not content with taking on the 26.2 mile challenge, just six days after the marathon, Sophie will be flying to Nepal to complete a 17-day trek to Mount Everest Base Camp, also for charity.

Both Laura and Sophie are part of local running club, Roberttown Road Runners.

In the build-up to the marathon, Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater invited the four runners to her office to talk about their training regimes, nerves and motivation for taking part in the iconic event.

Ms Leadbeater, who is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Running, said: “I have got a huge amount of admiration for anyone who takes on the challenge of running a marathon, and wanted to champion local people who are taking part in this year’s event in London.

“The London Marathon has become one of Britain’s biggest sporting occasions and the atmosphere, and immense amounts of money raised for charities is incredible.”

Ms Leadbeater, who champions the power of walking, running and all types of sport for physical and mental health and well-being, finished her chat with the runners by wishing them the very best of luck and recommending a nice hot bath when it's all over.

To sponsor the runners, visit their fundraising pages:

Craig: https://www.justgiving.com/page/craig-johnson-1705759050098?utm_term=jNxP482Xz

James: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/james-nichols5#eyJkb25hdGlvbklkIjoiMTA5ODExMTIyNSIsImN1cnJlbmN5Q29kZSI6IkdCUCIsImRvbmF0aW9uVmFsdWUiOiI2MDAifQ==

Sophie:

https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/sophie-edwards?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email&utm_source=EnthuseSendGrid&fbclid=PAAaYpmX8paREOyG1TLbXiqKb9v80MdKCl_lU8njzgDnulOusjuLWIZ_3fqBc_aem_AUFeEfCX2A2KkvmHOoSaB5GhbvTdBtBl6gaeSfqhpXRBH745tsrLLs_Gru9AGE3tglQ

Laura: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Laura-Hall86