London Marathon sets a new fundraising world record

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Runners at this year's London Marathon raised 63.7 million pounds for charity, setting a new world record for an annual single-day fundraising event for a 12th successive year.

The organizers said the new record was an increase of more than 2 million pounds on the previous record total of 61.5 million pounds from 2017.

The total raised for charity since Virgin Money took over as title sponsor of the annual 26.2-mile race in 2010 is now more than 500 million pounds.

"We salute every runner who has contributed to this amazing world record total of 63.7 million pounds, a truly incredible sum from a one-day event," event director Hugh Brasher said in a statement on Thursday.

"We are constantly working to grow the event and its positive impacts as a society, health services and charities face ever-increasing pressure on their services and funding."

Participants race in the 2018 London Marathon. /VCG Photo

"The London Marathon Charitable Trust has enabled hundreds of thousands more people to get active through its funding of a huge range of recreational projects."

Eliud Kipchoge, who broke the world record in Berlin last weekend, took his third London title in April and fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's race. The event featured a record 40,273 finishers.

The London Marathon, presently known through sponsorship as the Virgin Money London Marathon, is a long-distance running event. The event was first run in 1981 and has been held in the spring of every year since.

The race is mainly known for being a public race where ordinary people can challenge themselves while raising great amounts of money for various charities.

More than 400,000 runners have entered the ballot for next year's marathon, breaking the event's own world record for registrations.

(Top image via VCG: Winners of the men's and women's race, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge and Vivian Cheruiyot pose with the trophy outside the Tower Bridge on April 23, 2018. )

Source(s): Reuters