TCS London Marathon, Sunday 2nd October 2022

I have spent nearly 30 years fixing bones and joints to help get people back on their feet (and skis and bikes and horses!) and want to test myself around our great capital city to generate some funding for the vital research needed to help us do what we do, with even more success. Covid hasn't been kind to those with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Every pound donated will help us bring smiles back to the faces of patients in desperate need.
 

I am an Orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee replacements.

I see the life changing effects of joint disease every day in my patients. Although I like to think that I can improve their quality of life with joint replacement surgery, I would love to see a world where people never reach a stage where this is required. Running in support of Joint Action will help us all reach that goal.

Running is not something that comes naturally to me, so having a target to train for and a cause that's close to my heart to support helps massively with my motivation.

I am acutely aware of the significant impact of musculoskeletal disease and disability on all aspects of life. Afterall - life is motion; motion is life!

As an orthopaedic surgeon, I strive to improve this very aspect of people's lives. However, much more can be done and I am lucky to be able to challenge myself at the TCS London Marathon 2022 and at the same time raise money for the BOA Joint Action Research appeal. 

As someone who loves the outdoors and is always up for an adventure or physical fitness challenge, it is immensely important for me to help a cause that promotes advances in the understanding and treatment of bone and joint disease. I am grateful to the BOA for providing me this opportunity.

I am sure the BOA members will be generous in supporting the BOA London marathon runners in their mission to raise money for the Joint Action Orthopaedic Research Appeal.  

“Thank you BOA for giving me the opportunity to run the London Marathon and raise funds for joint action in 2021!  It was an absolutely
fantastic day. Beautiful weather, cheering and supportive crowds and the camaraderie of the runners around me. It was a great first marathon even after hitting ‘the wall’ at about mile 22. The knowledge that so many sponsors were behind me and the positive impact that the funds would have spurred me on to the finish. This will not be my last!”

“Running my first marathon was a great experience and I am extremely grateful to the BOA for providing me with the opportunity to fulfil this ambition. It was also rewarding to help raise money for a worthwhile cause. This experience has allowed me to develop my interest in distance running which is something I am looking forward to for the foreseeable future. It was also really fun being able to run with Robert Jordan for the majority of the race. I’d like to once again thank the team at BOA for all the support to make our experience a smooth one. I look forward to the opportunity to do this again!”

Robert Jordan & Imran Ahmed

“Thank you to Joint Action for the opportunity to take on the London Marathon again. After all the cancelled events over the last 18 months, it was great to be running the iconic London Marathon, making all those early morning training runs worthwhile! The crowds were fantastic and it was especially rewarding to complete it with my friend, Imran Ahmed, both of us fundraising for Joint Action. I am sure the money we raised will be put to good use.”

"Running the London marathon has to be one of the achievements to look back on in later life. One of the world’s best marathons, fantastic crowds, fantastic atmosphere, running through historic iconic landmarks of London. Joint action is a really worthwhile cause it’s what we ideally should be aligned with as orthopaedic surgeons treating arthritis on a daily basis. Don’t think too much or worry about whether you will manage it to complete it just sign up for next year’s run and get going. You will have a fantastic experience."

“The London Marathon is an iconic sporting event and I’d encourage anyone to take part. The winter training can be gruelling but having something to aim for makes getting out of bed on a cold, dark morning all the easier. And it’ll all be worth it as you come down The Mall at the end. Pain is temporary but glory is forever!”

I’m Pelvis and Acetabular Reconstruction at King’s College Hospital, London. At the London Marathon I broke the Guiness Book of world records or running a marathon in ski-boots, with a time of 5 hours 30 minutes 27 seconds.  I raised over 7 thousand pounds, via my fundraising website, skibootmarathon.com.  On the day of the big race, I had a technical glitch with the timing tracker strapped to the side of my ski boots, so it didn’t work, this meant I had to wait an agonising 3 days until the official result was announced. Thank you so much to all those who sponsored me.

I was really worried about getting a femoral neck stress fracture, most of my colleagues including me have a seen one or two patients over the years with a femoral neck stress fracture running the London marathon, so it’s not that rare, but lucking my hips held up just fine, I’d run a few more miles each week in the boots, up to 20 miles three weeks before the race. A couple of time I ran 8 miles to work in my ski boots through Hyde Park and past Buckingham Palace, I certain got a few weird looks, but sometimes people didn’t bat an eyelid, ‘ just another weird thing in London ‘. The race mostly fun, towards the end, my proximal medial tibial plateau was hurting a lot, and I was imagining the bone stress reaction on the T2 MRI while I was running. A few miles later I was sure I had a 2nd meta-tarsal stress fracture (a Marchers’ fracture!), I thought to myself  “if that’s the only injury I get, I’ll take that in exchange for a world record“. In the end, I just had few blisters, killer thigh pains for a few days, and one very proud 8 year old son. 

“Running the London Marathon has been a great experience and I am grateful to Joint Action for the opportunity. The chance to set personal goals, experience the supportive London crowds whilst raising money for a good cause made me return for a second year and I would recommend it to others!”

“My two daughters have scoliosis so have worn braces to control the curvatures of their spines. To run the London Marathon for the British Orthopaedic Association was an opportunity to give something back. I thoroughly enjoyed my whole London Marathon experience. I can’t say the training wasn’t hard at times but it was all worth it on the day to run with the crowds behind you and for a worthy cause.”

“Jon Waite and Pete Thompson completed the 2019 London Marathon which turned out to be the biggest ever with over 42,000 competitors. It’s a truly memorable and spectacular event with a route that takes in many of the famous sights of London. However the most impressive part is the crowd support. At times it’s deafening with cheering, singing and music including steel drums and DJ's. Despite being in a world of pain from 20 miles you don't dare to stop running! It’s an emotional day that will stay with you for ever so suggest you get signed up for next year."

"Completing the London Marathon was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life and I will be forever grateful to the BOA for allowing me to represent Joint Action. The support throughout the run was fantastic with crowds cheering from start to finish. There were lots of sweets, jelly babies and even ice-lollies on offer from the passers-by! There were many emotional highs and lows, especially when my headphone battery died, however the support from the crowds helped carry me to the finish line. Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to support such a worthy charity! Caesar Wek, ST6 in Trauma & Orthopaedics, South East Thames Rotation"