London Marathon proves hot work for reporter

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by HoldtheFrontPage Staff Published 27 Apr 2009

Recovery from a sunburnt head is one of the more unlikely injuries facing a reporter this week after finishing yesterday’s London Marathon.

Dan Menhinnitt, news editor with the Richmond and Twickenham Times, forgot his sun hat as he and colleagues Ian Mason and Paul Teed completed the gruelling 26.2-mile course in 5hrs 18mins.

The Newsquest trio are hoping to raise £6,000 for Missing People as part of the Times’ campaign to collect £15,000 for the charity, launched last November.

Dan, above centre with Ian and Paul, told HTFP: “The run was quite hard going, especially as it was quite hot.

“The worst injury I seem to have suffered is sunburn which seems to have amused my colleagues. My legs are fine it’s just my head that hurts.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that hot but half way round I thought I was going to be in trouble. We managed to get round the entire way together without stopping.

“I crossed the line and thought never again and it will probably stay ‘never again’, as much fun as it was. It’s an experience more than being enjoyable but at least I got to see parts of London I wouldn’t normally.”

Around 35,000 runners took part in the 28th London Marathon including a clutch of local and regional press journalists. See their times and charities below and click on their names to go through to their fundraising pages.

If we’ve missed out you or one of your colleagues in the local press please tell us on [email protected] and we’ll give your fundraising efforts a push.

Sharon Harris, a reporter with the Barry and District News in South Wales, ran her second London Marathon, and third overall, for the Pituitary Foundation. Last year she raised £2,035 for the charity, which she chose to support after undergoing a life-saving operation in 2003 to remove a tumour from her pituitary gland after being diagnosed with Cushings Disease. Sharon completed the course in 6hrs 50mins.

Nottingham Evening Post reporter Delia Monk completed her first marathon in 4hrs 44mins. She got the running bug after doing the city’s Robin Hood Half Marathon last September and is raising money for the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust.

Liz Webb, from Exeter daily the Express and Echo, also completed her first marathon, in a time of 5hrs 6mins, for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as a friend’s two-year-old son suffers from the disease. She decided to tackle marathon training as a way of getting fit after giving birth to her son last year.

Former South Wales Echo editor Alastair Milburn finished his fourth London Marathon in 4hrs 50mins. He was running in memory of his friend, BBC Wales sports broadcaster Bob Humphrys, and sister Roxanne, both of whom died of cancer. Alastair is raising money for Cancer Research Wales.

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