Suffolk runners head to London for marathon this Sunday

Both amateur and professional runners will set off from Greenwich Park on Sunday morning, many of them running to raise funds for causes close to their hearts. 

Shane Owen from Bury St Edmunds will be sure to stand out from the crowd, as he is attempting to secure the Guinness World Record for the fastest male marathon runner dressed as a book.

Shane Owen (left) will be running in the marathon on Sunday wearing the book mascot costume. Pictured with Philip Beer (right) who ran the London Marathon last year. Credit: Hamelin Brands (Image: Hamelin Brands)

Philip Beer completed the marathon last year, dressed as a book. Credit: Hamelin Brands (Image: Hamelin Brands)

Both Shane and Philip signed up for the marathon in tribute to their late colleague, Eddie Sampson. Credit: Hamelin Brands (Image: Hamelin Brands)

Mr Owen is the sales manager for Hamelin Brands UK, Europe’s largest manufacturer of exercise books.

He is hoping to steal the current world record from Hamelin’s managing director, Philip Beer, who crossed the finish line while dressed as a book last year in just five hours 34 minutes. 

Both Mr Owen and Mr Beer signed up for the marathon in tribute to their late colleague, Eddie Sampson, who lost his battle with cancer on July 28, 2021. 

Also flying the flag for Bury St Edmunds, Sandra Clelland is running to raise funds for Heart Research UK.

This is an organisation which resonates with her, for last year, her son-in-law, Ben collapsed suddenly from cardiac arrest. He was 39, with no history of heart disease. 

Sandra Clelland, pictured with her daughter, Chantal, and two granddaughters after completing a race in Dubai in January last year. Credit: Sandra Clelland (Image: Sandra Clelland)

• READ MORE: Suffolk woman raises £1,600 by running a marathon after family tragedy
• READ MORE: Suffolk sisters take on London Marathon for 'bright, funny, sparkly' grandma

Ben died in Dubai, where the family had been living. After his death, Mrs Clelland’s daughter, Chantal, returned to Bury St Edmunds with the couple’s two children. 

Mrs Clelland said: “It was about late September that I realised I had to do something positive after such a traumatic time.  

“I decided in a moment of madness to try and get a place in the London Marathon. I didn't get a ballot place, but succeeded in securing a charity place with Heart Research UK.

"I chose this charity as the more research that is done into heart disease, the more chance of finding cures, and thus saving more families from going through the pain and anguish of losing someone.” 

For Karen Tew from Edwardstone, this will be her first marathon. Mrs Tew is running to raise funds for Ormiston families, and said she signed up on a whim. 

Karen Tew is a former chief financial officer for EO Charging. Credit: Ormiston Families (Image: Ormiston Families)

“It’s exciting, but daunting” said Mrs Tew, 60. She will be running alongside her daughter, Francesca Tew, who is representing the children’s charity Dreams Come True. 

This is also the first marathon for Sue Glazer, 72, fom St Margaret South Elmham. She is running in aid of her granddaughter, three-year-old Isabella, who has cerebral palsy as a result of being born prematurely at just 24 weeks. 

Isabella’s condition means she currently cannot walk more than a few steps unaided.

However, Isabella was recently put on the NHS waiting list for a life-changing surgery, SDR (Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy), at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

This pioneering operation relieves tension in the legs of children with cerebral palsy, helping them to walk. 

Sue Glazer with her granddaughter, Isabella. Image: Sarah Bright (Image: Sarah Bright)

An intensive and long programme of physiotherapy is required before, and for years after the surgery.

With the NHS only able to provide limited funding, Isabella’s parents, Sarah and Jonathan, have started a campaign to raise further funds to give their daughter the best possible chance of one day being able to walk on her own. 

Mrs Glazer will therefore be running on Sunday in aid of their campaign, ‘Dancing on My Own: Isabella’s Road to Independence’. 

As Andy Cross from Bury St Edmunds runs, he will be thinking of his son, Rory. 

Andy Cross with his son, Rory. Credit: The Sick Children's Trust (Image: The Sick Children's Trust)

Rory Cross spent the first weeks of his life in hospital. Credit: The Sick Children's Trust (Image: The Sick Children's Trust)

Rory, now 15 months old, was diagnosed with Chitayat Syndrome, a genetic condition which causes severe breathing difficulties, when he was just seven weeks old.

The youngster is only the second person in the UK and thirteenth in the world to be diagnosed with the condition. 

Immediately after his birth, Rory was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit at West Suffolk Hospital. He was later transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital to receive specialist care, where he remained for five weeks.  

Throughout his time in Cambridge, Mr Cross and his wife, Kirsty, were supported with a free place to stay at Acorn House. This is a ‘Home from Home’ run by The Sick Children’s Trust. 

Mr Cross will be taking to the track to raise funds for the trust, alongside 11 others. 

He said: “I wanted to give something back to thank The Sick Children’s Trust for supporting us in our darkest hour.  

“Taking part in the London Marathon is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel so honoured to be doing it for a charity that is so close to our hearts.”