Meet our 2023 London Marathon Team

Returning to its Spring time date for the first time since 2019, the London Marathon will take place on Sunday 23 April, with the streets of London to be filled with cheers and support for 50,000 runners. Each will have trained tirelessly to get to the start line of The TCS London Marathon and to experience the electric atmosphere.

Among them will be our team of The EPT runners, each of whom has their own reasons for committing the past several months to training for this iconic event. We are so grateful for their dedication and support and would like to remind them that as they tie their laces and attach their bib numbers they are not alone. The entire EPT community will be cheering them every step of the way to the finish line.

Coverage of the London Marathon will be broadcast live on BBC TV, iPlayer and online. Updates of team EPT’s progress will be shared throughout the day on our Instagram and Facebook stories.

Information about the ballot for the 2024 London Marathon will be shared on our social media pages once announced. 

Meet our team for The TCS London Marathon 2023 and find out how you can follow their epic journeys on Sunday 23rd April!

After completing the virtual London Marathon twice for The EPT over the pandemic, George is more than ready to finally hit the streets of London.

George says: “We have supported the charity since we lost our baby to an ectopic pregnancy in 2015. I hadn’t heard of an ectopic pregnancy before so trying to process what had happened, the loss of a baby, and coming very close to losing my wife, was overwhelming. The EPT took some of that stress away with reliable information on their website. 

This year is my opportunity to say thank you and I know that crossing that finish line is going to be emotional on so many levels. Being a part of Team EPT is special. Knowing that while we have all been training for this day miles apart, but will all run the same route through London, is quite symbolic – we all have our own reasons for running, but on 23 April our paths will meet in a united show of support, understanding and community.”

If you would like to read more about George’s marathon journey, you can on his fundraising page. 

Please be aware that the following experience of an ectopic pregnancy is extremely sensitive. If you do decide to read on, please be aware that our support services are available should you need them. 

In April 2021 Bekki, the partner of Michelle’s brother, sadly lost her life to an ectopic pregnancy. Michelle will be crossing the start line of the London Marathon in memory of Bekki.

Michelle says: “Bekki was a loving mother to her 8 children, Tori, Tyler, Ruby, Riley, Louie, Lennox, Ashton and Aliza, she was in a happy relationship with my brother, Anthony, and family was everything to them. Bekki also loved her family, her sisters Rachel and Ebony and of course her mum and dad. All these people have a big hole in their hearts now and I want to run in her memory.”.

If you would like to read more about Michelle’s marathon journey, you can on her fundraising page. 

Sadie bravely entered the ballot for the London Marathon and, after being lucky enough to be offered a spot, and chose to support The EPT along the way. Sadie has generously given her time and dedication to training in all weathers for the iconic race.

Sadie says: “The charity I’ve chosen to represent is The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, who supported my husband and I through our own experience of suffering an ectopic pregnancy. As a small charity, every little helps, and I hope I show my appreciation through the donations I raise to show my sincerest gratitude for the support that this small, but mighty charity gave me at a very emotional time.

Wish me luck…I’m going to need it!”

You can wish Sadie luck and find out more about her marathon journey over on her fundraising page. 

The London Marathon is entered by people all over the world for many reasons, and Sarah has her own incredibly inspirational reasons to take part.

Sarah says: “I came to the decision to run the London Marathon in only February. I’d been toying for a while and realised it would be a great way to celebrate being 5 years cancer free, so found a charity that meant something to me. 

This isn’t my first as I ran Barcelona Marathon in 2017 aged 42 and unfortunately with Breast cancer. I had no idea at the time and was only diagnosed a few months later but it felt fitting to celebrate by running another 26.2 miles!!

I chose The EPT as in my thirties I suffered 4 miscarriages, one of which being ectopic. I had no idea of the support available and dealt with every one by brushing it under the carpet. I’m passionate about people being more open about miscarriage. As a society we believe that it’s right to wait until 12 weeks to announce a pregnancy, we then cloak any loss with shame and feelings of failure and hopelessness. Its a lonely place to be.

I’m very lucky to write that I now have four children – a birth daughter, adopted son, and two step sons who will all be cheering me on and willing me over that finish line.”

You can find out more about Sarah’s marathon journey over on her fundraising page. 

Alison signed up to the iconic London marathon as a way of saying thank you to the charity and to the women she connected with via the charity’s support forums. Training in sometimes sub-zero temperatures, Alison’s journey as been supported by family, friends, and colleagues.

Alison says: “During those early days, I came across The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust online support forums. I tentatively shared my story late at night, and received an amazing reply from one of the hosts. She helped me understand why I was struggling with my anxious thoughts and deep emotions, and having that understanding made a huge difference.

I also found it healing to share my fears with other women on The EPT site. One of them became a close confidante and unbelievably we went on to have our first children within a day of each other.

I genuinely believe that without The EPT I would not have the family I have today. Ultimately The EPT support gave me the courage to try again and I was incredibly lucky that, that resulted in Anna, Natalia, and then Santi. But they also offer invaluable support to women who have multiple losses and to those who move on with their lives without having children.

It has long been my ambition to say ‘thank you’ by taking on this challenge. Now is the time.”

You can find out more about Alison’s marathon journey over on her fundraising page. 

After first signing up to the London Marathon in 2020 the pandemic put Mark’s marathon hopes on hold. Three years, and an immense amount of dedication and training later, we can’t thank Mark enough for his support.

 

Mark says: “It has been a long journey for me to get to run the 2023 London Marathon. I had planned to run in 2020, which was cancelled thanks to Covid, and then ran the Virtual Marathon in October 2020. Thankfully, the fabulous team at the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust allowed me to role my place over to 2023 to enable me to run the first April London Marathon since Covid. I wanted to run for the EPT because I didn’t really know much about ectopic pregnancies until the weeks following our initial excitement about pending parenthood turned into a nightmare. Our experience wasn’t necessarily typical, but I was surprised how common ectopic pregnancies are. This is my chance to give something back to a cause that is so very close to me and my wife, and wider family.

 

After the disappointment of 2020, it is exciting to look forward to running the streets of London with the inspiring EPT marathon team who have all trained so hard for the day. I’d also like to thank fabulous EPT that have supported the runners throughout their training.”

 

You can find out more about Mark’s marathon journey over on his fundraising page. 

After winning her running clubs draw of a London marathon place Caroline graciously chose to use this as an opportunity to support The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.

Carolines says: “I am running London Marathon and raising funds for The EPT as I received help and support from them in 2017 during the most horrendous period of my life. I attended hospital a few times worried about my pregnancy but was sent away with pain relief. I already had a daughter who was 3 at the time and was conceived by IVF treatment and this baby was the much longed for miracle sibling. Due to IVF treatment with my daughter I didn’t know what was normal pain and what had been pain and bleeding from the IVF drugs so I tried to deal with it. It was Easter and we were visiting family far from home when the pain got unbearable and my husband rushed me and my little girl all the way to our hospital in Belfast. It took 4 or 5 staff a long time to finally diagnose me with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and internal bleeding. I was then driven by ambulance to another hospital for emergency surgery. The mental and physical pain that followed can never be explained and The EPT were crucial to my recovery. I asked many questions, I got support and just a listening ear. I still can’t discuss the subject without tears.

I won my London marathon spot in my running club draw, Seapark AC Carrickfergus, in 2019 and was due to run the 2020 Covid marathon that never was. We had planned a final round of IVF in October 2019 and I got the marathon spot the same month, so we put the treatment on hold and I trained for a marathon that never happened. With the uncertainty of everything the one thing I knew I wanted was to start the treatment so as soon as the fertility centre was given permission to reopen we started another round of IVF. Also London marathon gave me the option to defer my spot to 1 of 3 different years and I picked 2023. By some miracle everything fell into place and I had my little rainbow baby Mollie in April 2022 and was able to take up running again and marathon training at the end of 2022. Making 2 dreams come true. I can’t thank the girls at The EPT enough, no matter how silly my questions, they were always there to answer them. I’ve had two occasions were I thought I was going through another ectopic since, and again they were on hand to chat.
They sent me literature which I was able to hand in to the hospital and my Doctors surgery as there was very little known about this subject.”

You can find out more about Caroline’s marathon journey over on her fundraising page. 

 

Feeling inspired by our London Marathon 2023 team?

If you would like to join our fundraising team, we have inspiration here. If you are looking for an event closer to your own location, visit our Find a run near you section.