A father and son from Strathearn have raised almost £16,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK by successfully conquering the London Marathon.
Jamie and Hamish Landale were among the 48,000 people to tackle the iconic 26.2-mile route in the UK capital on Sunday.
Local businessman Jamie from the Crieff area, last ran a marathon 23 years ago. He decided to sign-up for the challenge during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
Son Hamish (18) agreed to join him and the pair chose to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK as it funds research into a condition that their family, along with many others, has personal experience of.
They set up an online page for donations and anyone who pledged £50 or more was poignantly invited to have the name of a loved one affected by dementia included on a special marathon day t-shirt.
After returning from the UK capital, Jamie said: “We must thank everyone who has supported us in our London Marathon effort – all the support and encouragement has kept us going over the past five months.
“Hamish and I ran together and had a fabulous day, although the last seven miles for both of us were absolutely awful.
“Hamish arrived back in the UK from Australia, where he was working, a week before the marathon – so there was just about time to recover from the flight, unfortunately pick up a cold, and head to London.”
Jamie continued: “We were running for Alzheimer’s Research UK in honour of my dad and mother-in-law – as well as many others who donated to our run and asked us to include a loved one on our ‘Roll of Honour’. It was a privilege to do it for them.
“Alzheimer’s Research UK had cheer points at miles 11, 18, 21 and 23 and we had a large group of friends and family at mile 25.
“It was just fabulous and kept us going when everything in both of our bodies was pleading for us to stop.
“We finished together in 4.45hrs. We were very happy with that, and we resisted the temptation to walk!
“It was a great experience, and the even better news is that everyone’s incredible generosity has raised nearly £16,000 for this fabulous cause.”
Jamie added: “We’d like to give a big shout out to everyone and thank them all for their support.”
