2026 London Marathon success

This was the first year that Reading Family Aid had runners in the London Marathon and it proved to be a success all round.
 
It was a record breaking year for the London Marathon, with two runners completing the course in under two hours. Our runners, George and Conal, took a bit longer but were our heroes as they raised nearly £4,500 in sponsorship.

With his bright gift-wrapping costume Conal stood out in the crowd but our supporters managed to spot both runners and cheer them on the route. 

George (left) and Conal at the starting area in Greenwich

You can still sponsor George and Conal at https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/george-kelleher and https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/conal-mclean 

Our runners summed up their experiences of the day…

“I’m incredibly proud to have run the London Marathon and immensely grateful to Reading Family Aid for giving me the opportunity to represent them,” said Conal McLean.

“I’ll never play football at Wembley. I’ll never play cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. But I’ve just run in front of a crowd bigger than both; and that’s something I’ll carry with me forever.

“And to every single person who sponsored me, your support, messages, and generosity meant the world. Thank you. 💙🏃‍♂️”

From George Kelleher:

"London. What can I really say about the greatest day of my life? It was such a wondrous occasion, and something I’m only really grasping the scale of in writing these words now.

“The event itself is utterly surreal. From the very start, onlookers cheer your name, children hold out their hands for high fives, churches and gurdwaras hand out their water and snacks. Speakers blast music constantly from makeshift stages in the upstairs windows of people’s houses along the route. From the very peaks (crossing Tower Bridge IS that good) to the ‘dig-deep’ lows (Canary Wharf IS that bad), the noise never stops, and it never stops motivating you to push beyond what you thought you were capable of.  I used to think that being a professional athlete would be the greatest job in the world. After London, and the opportunity afford to me by Reading Family Aid, I now know so.

“When you’re going round the iconic route, it’s hard to not think back to all the work you put in to even stand on that starting line in confidence. From the 5am training starts and multi-hour long runs, to realising 25km in that 42km is actually quite far, every action in this process was a brand new experience that taught me so much about my ability, my motivations, and that the mountains in our lives are there for us to conquer.

“Further back still, I thought of Reading too - my hometown is full of the people that raised me, nurtured me, and moulded me into the person who crossed that line and got that medal. Beyond my training, my carb-loading, or my gear, there was wind against my back the entire way knowing what I was doing wasn’t just for me, but for the people of my hometown as well. I hope I made you all proud.

“Finally, I want to give my thanks to Reading Family Aid. This hard-working charity that does such incredible work allowed this small boy from RG1 to achieve something he really didn’t think possible. Hopefully, the £2,000+ raised is already being put to good use - I can’t think of a better group of volunteers and causes that it could be being used for. I won’t forget the kindness, motivation and advice given to me by your team (particularly you Carolyn!). If you ever need someone to run again for you, you know where to find me."

And looking ahead to 2027
We were pleased to have won two places in the charity ballot for the event in 2026 through to 2029. Our runners learned a lot from the experience – and so have we to help make even more of a success next year. In the coming months we’ll be looking to find our two runners for the 2027 London Marathon. If you’d like to apply to run for us next year, do get in touch at [email protected]