Who ran in 2010?

It was a bumper year with ten runners and gender equality with 50% of our team made up of men. Last year we had our first ever husband and wife team. In 2010 we had a sister team from Aberdeen!

Check out the fantastic times:

Simon Teare 03:28:32

Russell Bailey 03:44:39

Ian Luke 03:55:07

Graeme Dignan 04:14:51

Nia Miles 04:43:43

Claire Parkin 04:43:43

Tricia Young 04:54:18

Nicola Johnston 05:24:49

Nicola Hewitt 06:13:24

More news and photos soon.

Preparing the hard way - 7 marathons in 7 days As the brother-in-law of one of our 2008 marathon runners (Toby Gardener), Russell Bailey is familiar with the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust. It seems that Toby's epic preparations started something of a challenge. Russell tells us: "I'm planning to go one better and run a marathon a day for 6 days before. So the London marathon will be my 7th marathon in 7 days. Hopefully this will gain some local publicity and in return raise a few more pounds for the charity." Russell is an experienced runner (6 years) and has previously run 11 marathons. He works as a retail manager in Swansea.

Although Graeme Dignan from Cranbrook, Kent has been running for 6 years, this will be his first marathon. Graeme knows about the challenges of trying for a family. He says: "We experienced the pain and anguish of an ectopic pregnancy in 2004. At the time, we had two healthy and beautiful daughters and were keen to add to our family. The experience shook us enormously and made us feel humble and grateful for what we already had and cherished. I'd like to raise awareness of ectopic pregnancy as a condition that many parents have to deal  with, and to give something back to the people that supported us throughout this life changing experience - no experience is a bad experience." He is keen to run the London marathon because it "is one of the great races and challenges on the planet, and I'd love the opportunity to play my part in this extravaganza in 2010."

Support Graeme

This will be the second marathon for Nicola Hewitt. She completed her last marathon in 6hours 42 minutes. Nicola is from Harlow in Essex and is running for Iolanthe because "I feel that it is important to support the smaller charities that don’t get so much publicity but still do such worthwhile work."

Sisters are doing it for Iolanthe! Our first ever sister team comes from Aberdeen. Nicola Johnston is a principal administrator and also the mother of 2 beautiful girls. She tells us that she had some difficulties during her pregnancies and says: "If it were not for the support I received in the early days of my first daughter in particular I'm not sure where I would be!" Nicola has several other reasons to run for Iolanthe "My younger sister Deborah Archer is a midwife at Addenbrookes Maternity Hospital and we are extremely proud of the work that she does. I also have a close friend, Emma, who has just recently qualified as a midwife in Aberdeen.  As a mum of 3 young boys Emma has worked extremely hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a midwife and supporting women, babies and families. I would like to show them how proud and grateful I am of the work they do." Nicola has been running for 5 years and has completed two previous marathons, with a personal best of 4 hours and 47 minutes. Nicola's sister, Tricia Young, secured her own place and we are delighted that she has chosen to support Iolanthe.

Support Nicola

With a mother who is a midwife, Ian Luke feels a connection with the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust. He says: "When I was a child my mum (Val) and dad divorced and at the age of 38 my mum, at the time a housewife, retrained to become a midwife. It was with the help of institutions such as the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust that she managed be in the position she is today. As she is close to retirement I would like to give something back to her profession and help with the training and support of the next generation of midwives. I am also acutely aware of the lack of midwives and the need for extra training for them." Ian is an accountant from Edgware in London and has been running for 4 years. He has completed a half marathon in 1 hour 49 minutes, but this will be his first full marathon.

Ian Luke

Simon Teare from London heard about the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust from his cousin who completed her nursing degree last year. He says: "At first I couldn't understand how it worked and why it existed so I read through the website and started to understand the work that you do. It's a rare charity in that the work could really benefit virtually anyone on a personal level at some point in their lives, whether male or female and that thought stuck with me." Simon works in assurance and has been running for a year. This is Simon's first marathon.

Support Simon