Sunday 26 April was the scheduled date for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon,the 40th edition of the world’s greatest marathon. It is a huge event in the charity fundraising calendar. Every year for the past 13 years, the London Marathon has set a world record for an annual one-day fundraiser, with an incredible £66.4 million raised for good causes in 2019 and more than £1 billion raised since the first race in 1981.

Thousands of fundraising events across the UK have been cancelled due to Covid-19 with a devastating impact on charity income that means many charities are facing closure. The National Council for voluntary Organisations (NCVO) CEO Karl Wilding estimates that the UK charity sector will lose £4 billion in income as a result of the pandemic.

From Sunday 26th April we encourage you all to get outside and walk, jog or run for 26 minutes to support the 2.6 challenge (while social distancing) and make a donation to support the Re-write Cancer Campaign. 

Why Re-write cancer?

We all know someone whose life has been changed by cancer, which is why researchers in Manchester are working hard to improve how cancer is treated and help more patients with cancer get back to normal life.This is where we can help. Working in partnership with The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Cancer Research UK, The University of Manchester is building a world-leading cancer research centre. The new centre will bring together the largest concentration of scientists, doctors and nurses in Europe all working together to tackle cancer head-on. But this will only be possible with the help of people like us. Please join us in re-writing the future of cancer by donating today!

 Find out more about how the University is re-writing cancer here: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/collaborate/give/appeals/rewrite-cancer/. 

Thank you!