LONDON Marathon runners from Barrow, Ulverston and Millom have been sharing their stories and comparing battle scars as they celebrated bringing 25 medals back to South Cumbria.

Every one of the runners from South Cumbria completed the gruelling 26.2-mile course on Sunday despite the tough conditions caused by the warm weather.

Each one has their own story to tell, with many choosing to raise money for charities that have helped their family members.


Three of our local runners: Fiona Bannister, Aimee Goodings and Barbara Hodgson, represented St Mary's Hospice in memory of loved ones.

Fiona , who finished the marathon in 4:35:57, ran for her granddad who died from cancer four years ago; Aimee , whose finish time was 5:08:52, dedicated her run to her grandma; and Barbara , whose finish time was 5:06;49, ran in memory of her father-in-law Robert Hodgson.

Other runners, such as Gemma Bosanko, Simon Donnelly, Rebecca Cummings and Patty Davies ran on behalf of charities which offer them ongoing support.

Gemma , who achieved a time of 3:46:42, has a rare heart condition and chose to represent the British Heart Foundation. Simon , whose daughter Willow has Down's syndrome, completed the marathon in 7:15:26 and ran for the Get Kids Going charity which helps disabled children to take part in sports.

Rebecca , who finished in 6:27:21, raised money for mental health charity Mind after she suffered from Postnatal Depression following the birth of her son in 2016; and Patty finished in 4:35:21 and ran for Epilepsy Action because her daughter Iona has the condition.

Friends Julia Byrne and Julie Cavin achieved a joint time of 4:29:59 in support of mental health charity Mind and Julie Wagstaff finished in 5:09:20, having represented Cancer Research UK as a tribute to her dad Denis Bell who is battling the disease.

Despite suffering a muscle injury halfway through, Dan Hayes finished in 5:18:47 representing the Motor Neurone Disease Association and John Appleton , raising money for the deafblind charity Sense, finished in 5:58:27.

Dave Edwards , raising money to help the Lake District-based Calvert Trust to buy a new minibus, achieved the incredibly time of 2:53:26; Kayleigh Johns , whose grandma Doreen died in 2013 after suffering a stroke, represented the Stroke Association and finished in 5:57:55; and father-of-four Dom Pope raised money for the NSPCC and finished in 4:05:52.

Kelly Taylor, who ran for Asthma UK, finished in 6:26:10; Christine Adams , representing the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust, finished in 4:12:50; and Marie Sullivan , raising money for Plantlife, finished in 5:25:59.

Firefighter Paul Milburn was something of a celebrity during the marathon, standing out from the 40,000-strong crowd by running in his full fire kit and breathing apparatus. Raising money for the Fire Fighters Charity he finished in 6:16:31.

Making up the 24 amateur runners, Mark Lehrle achieved an impressive finish time of 3:04:12; Phillip Morris in 3:34:59; Gary Dover in 3:42:50; Joanne McLeod in 3:48:41; and David Marr finished in 4:35:14.

Elite runner Chris Thompson , who lives in Kirkby, came 30th overall with a finish time of 2:24:11 and 11-year-old Olesia Winder from Ulverston represented the North West in the England team taking part in a race of the final 5k of the marathon route.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE 2018 LONDON MARATHON

There are two ways for non-professional runners to take part in the London Marathon - through the ballot or by registering to run on behalf of a registered charity.

Ballot entry

The public ballot entry system for the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon opens on Monday 1 May and closes at 17:00 on Friday 5 May 2017. The ballot will be open for five days to give everyone who wants to enter the event a fair chance to do so.

Charity entry

To apply for a charity place in 2018, you'll need to contact your chosen charity directly to see if they've got any places to offer. You can apply for a charity place at any time.

You can see which charities have guaranteed places at www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com