Repaying charity's Caring gesture

Dietician Anneka Gershon, 25, raised a healthy £2,200 for Jewish Care in her second marathon, inspired by a family connection.

Her grandmother is a resident in the charity's Lady Sarah Cohen House in East Finchley.

"I found this marathon harder than last year," she confided. "I struggled with my training due to a knee injury.

"But I was determined not to give up due to the great stuff Jewish Care does for my nana and the Jewish community as a whole and the support I received from my family and friends."

Jewish participants in the London Marathon have raised more than £400,000 for charitable causes.

Ort is the biggest beneficiary, raking in £105,000 from a group of South African runners who completed the 26.2 mile course on Sunday.

They were joined by ex-Royal Marine Tom Carver from Hendon, who was almost left to fly the flag alone because of the South Africans' travel problems in the wake of the flight disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud.

What are the racing secrets of the oldest London Marathon entrant?

According to 84-year-old Paul Freedman, they are “to keep active, do as much charity work as possible and have a sense of humour”.

Mr Freedman has taken part in all but one of the last 19 London events — the sole exception was because of a heart attack. A lifelong commitment to fundraising was recognised in 2008 with the award of an MBE.

Laura Roth ran for Children in Crisis in honour of her brother Nicholas, who died in a climbing accident in Nicaragua in November 2004.

“As a lawyer, my brother did lots of pro bono work to help underprivileged children around the world, so running for Children in Crisis was the obvious choice,” the Finchley resident explained.

“Already being a bit of a gym-goer, it’s the fundraising rather than the exercise that amazed me. To raise so much money for such a worthwhile cause is one of the most humbling experiences of my life.”