Lindfield actor Roger Lawrence (May) put on a medal-winning performance in front of an audience of thousands earlier this month. But rather than treading the boards, Roger was pounding the streets taking part in his first Manchester Marathon, raising funds for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
It was a third marathon for the Lindfield dad who has previously completed the London and Brighton events. “I registered for the Manchester Marathon back in 2020, as I had heard the course was fairly flat and I wanted to beat my previous times,” said Roger. “But after 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic and I got injured in 2021, I forgot I had a place this year and missed five weeks of training, so I was just grateful it was flat so I could get round!”
Roger finished the course in a respectable 3hrs 57, cheered on by his wife Hilary. “The Manchester course is brilliant for spectators, as the city metro is pretty much unaffected which means that, after spotting their runner, they can jump on the tram and catch them again three stops later! When I ran the London Marathon, I didn’t see Hilary at all(!), but in Manchester I spotted her four times, which made a really big difference.” It wasn’t all plain sailing and there were a couple of early hiccups for Roger. “My earphones stopped working after 10 miles, followed by my Garmin watch, which wasn’t ideal,” he said. “Physically I thought I didn’t feel too bad but, after picking up my medal, I was chatting to two other finishers and when one dropped her protein bar, all three of us realised we couldn’t bend over to pick it up! We just stood and stared at it!”
Roger is thrilled to have raised over £3,500 after starting out with a £500 target. “I was originally going to run for the Stroke Association and Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust (what my father and father-in-law, respectively, passed away from) but, with the current situation, I just had to run for Ukraine,” said Roger, who has already applied for a place in next year’s Manchester Marathon. “I’ve had over 90 donations and have already raised over £3,500 which is just wonderful. And can I please add a massive thank you for all the support.” You can add to Roger’s total via this link: www.bit.ly/3xFWm67