My Story

Richard Holden, MP for Basildon and Billericay, is running the London Marathon this April in support of St. Luke’s Hospice in Basildon, which serves people across the constituency and the wider Essex area.

After giving up smoking around a year and a half ago, Richard started to think about health a bit more. At the back end of last year, Richard did his Parkrun in Billericay. Inspired to take things further, he decided to challenge himself by going from “couch to marathon” in just over four months.

Through the London Marathon, he is raising funds for St. Luke’s Hospice in Basildon, which provides vital care and support to people and families across Basildon and Billericay during some of the most difficult times.

About us

The London Marathon has become an annual, inspiring and colourful fixture in the world’s sporting calendar since the inaugural race on 29 March 1981: a celebration of fun, fundraising and fancy dress.

Over the years more than a million people have completed the 26.2-mile course – which runs from Blackheath to The Mall, with a spectacular finish in front of Buckingham Palace, showcasing the very best that the capital city has to offer.

What’s more, these participants have raised over a billion pounds for charity and there have been countless amazing tales of human achievement throughout the event’s history – living up to its aim of helping participants ‘to have fun, and provide some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.