Today should have seen the staging of the 40th London Marathon.
Back in March 1981, Britain’s running boom got off with a bang with 7,000 runners in the first London Marathon
But the decision to postpone the event for the first time in its history was taken a month ago, in common with many sports and charity events – including the Race For Live runs that were planned for Lloyd Park and Crystal Palace in July.
Cancer Research UK has postponed its 5km and 10km runs during the coronavirus outbreak, but they have now announced new dates, with the Race for Life in Croydon rescheduled for Sunday, September 6 in Lloyd Park, and their Crystal Palace Park event planned for Saturday, October 3.
Participants who had already signed up for the Race for Life dates in July can transfer their entry to the new dates, while entries are also open for more people to join at raceforlife.org.
“We’re sending a heartfelt message to everyone to seize the opportunity and come join us to Race for Life in Croydon and Crystal Palace,” said Ali Root, Cancer Research UK event manager for Croydon and Crystal Palace.
“As the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold, we are listening to the advice and guidance of the UK Government carefully.
“While our priority is ensuring that people affected by cancer get the support and information they need during unprecedented times, we’re having to work quickly to understand the impact the pandemic will have on Cancer Research UK’s fundraising.
“We have urgently reviewed our events, including Race for Life as the safety of our supporters, volunteers, suppliers and staff across the hundreds of events due to take place in 2020 is incredibly important.
The Race for Life will be returning to Lloyd Park in September
“We hope men, women and children will unite against cancer and make Race for Life Croydon and Crystal Palace the best yet this Autumn. Together we can beat cancer.
“Since it began, Race for Life has raised more than £890million for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has taken part and hope their support will continue throughout these unprecedented times.”
Every hour four people are diagnosed with cancer in Greater London. But more people are surviving the disease now than ever before. Cancer survival in Britain has doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.
Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work relies entirely on the public’s generous support. The charity was able to spend nearly £153million last year in Greater London on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research. Now many of the scientists and researchers funded by Cancer Research UK are redeployed to help in the fight against covid-19, including assisting with testing for the virus. By helping to beat coronavirus, the charity can lessen the impact that this virus is having on the care of cancer patients.
For more information, visit raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.
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