Dozens of people will run the London Marathon for Jewish charities, despite the race being staged on the second day of Pesach.
Communal leaders complained when the April 24 date was announced, pointing out that the clash would cost welfare groups desperately needed income. But Jewish Care and Norwood say they are anticipating their normal number of entrants.
Although "disappointed" that the marathon date could not be altered, Jewish Care fundraising director Daniel Carmel-Brown explained that the charity "represents a cross-section of the community. We are not going to stop those who want to run the marathon in aid of Jewish Care from doing so."
He said that five people would be participating for Jewish Care, but "we will not be sending any staff to support our runners as we wouldn't expect them to work on Yomtov".
Norwood - the largest beneficiary of the 2015 race with £80,000 raised - expects to generate a similar amount from its 20-strong team this year.
Business development manager Ian Tate said the charity attracted "support from members of the community across all affiliations" and was "delighted that people are running in aid of Norwood".
However, charities such as Emunah and Kisharon, which draw significant Orthodox support, will not be fielding runners - and are counting the cost.
Kisharon fundraising director Richard Franklin said: "We normally raise in excess of £20,000 through the marathon, about 20 per cent of our annual event fundraising total."
World Jewish Relief will have five runners and expects to receive £10,000 in sponsorship. But it earned £50,000 from the 2015 race. WJR communications director Rafi Cooper attributed the shortfall to the charity not marketing the race.
The missing £40,000 could have been used to repair more than 30 houses in disaster-hit areas or put 155 people through WJR's programme to help Ukrainian refugees into work.
Among the Jewish runners will be Joey Barnett, a 24-year-old property acquisition consultant, who will be the sole representative of Jewish Blind and Disabled, which has also not promoted the race.
"It's a holy day, but I'm not that religious," Mr Barnett said. "I'll eat some extra matzah to help me through."
He had wanted to help JBD because it supported those suffering from multiple sclerosis. "My mother has had MS for the past 17 years and my late grandmother also suffered from MS, so the cause is very close to my heart."
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