Good Luck to our 2025 London Landmark Runners
We’re saying a big good luck to our eight fantastic London Landmark runners in 2025.
Prior to the big day on Sunday 6th April 2025, we spoke to four of team CLAPA’s runners:
Nicola Jeffery
” The anticipation of the London Landmarks Half Marathon is also building, and I’m excited to take on the challenge while raising awareness for CLAPA.”
What inspired you to fundraise for CLAPA?
“Lily’s resilience and strength have been my biggest inspiration.
“Our journey with CLAPA began in March 2022, when our beautiful daughter, Lily, was born with a cleft palate. She underwent corrective surgery in May 2023, and since then, she has absolutely thrived. Her speech is developing wonderfully, and she’s a constant source of joy and laughter.
“Watching her overcome challenges and embrace life with such enthusiasm filled me with an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude.
“I wanted to give back to CLAPA, the charity that provided invaluable support and resources to us during a challenging time. Knowing that Lily loves to run, just like her mum, makes running the London Landmarks the perfect way to celebrate her journey and raise awareness for other families.
“I organised a bingo night and raffle, featuring prizes generously donated by local businesses. The support from our community was incredible, and it was a wonderful way to raise funds and awareness for CLAPA.”
How has your fundraising experience been?
“My fundraising experience has been incredibly rewarding. The bingo night was a huge success, and it was heartwarming to see so many people come together to support such a worthy cause.
“The anticipation of the London Landmarks Half Marathon is also building, and I’m excited to take on the challenge while raising awareness for CLAPA.
“Sharing Lily’s story has resonated with many people, and the outpouring of support has been truly touching. It has been a very positive and uplifting experience.
“If you’re considering fundraising for CLAPA, I would wholeheartedly encourage you to go for it! Every contribution, no matter how big or small, makes a real difference to families affected by cleft lip and palate.”
Louise Fisher
“The support, online events, Facebook group, and the bottles meant it felt like you had someone in your corner.”
What inspired you to fundraise for CLAPA?
“I was very sleep-deprived when I applied as it was a
rough night with my daughter so applied at about 2 AM, and I don’t entirely remember doing it.
“My second daughter has a cleft lip and palate and this charity has been there for us from day one when we had our 20-week scan.
“When we found out about our daughter’s cleft lip and palate at the 20-week scan, [CLAPA] was the first place I went to. That was our first sanity savior. The support, online events, Facebook group, and the bottles meant it felt like you had someone in your corner. The day she was born I wasn’t scared, I felt strong and have done it ever since.”
How has your fundraising experience been?
“It’s sometimes hard to ask for sponsorship and when I mentioned what I was doing everyone has been so generous and kind it makes me feel very proud and hopeful.
“So far I have held a ‘Traitors’ fundraiser night, where one of my best friends dressed up as Claudia which was fantastic!”
Rich Barnes
“The training has been good fun and I’m so excited for the main event. Think of the feeling you’ll get when you cross that finish line.”
What inspired you to fundraise for CLAPA?
“I was inspired to run for CLAPA to try and raise some money for a really supportive cause. My little boy Hunter was born with a Cleft lip and palate, so I wanted to run for him and challenge myself. 18 months ago I couldn’t run 100 meters but I’ve taken it slow and the training is going well.”
How has your fundraising experience been?
“I was really apprehensive about fundraising as I don’t really like asking people for money but I found bake sales, raffles, scratch cards easy to do and people were happy to support. My top tip is invest in a sum-up card ready for £25. I found no one had cash so being able to accept card made the whole process so much easier.
“It’s an amazing thing to do. – For me, I had a goal in mind. I knew it would be tough but it’s such a good cause. The training has been good fun and I’m so excited for the main event. Think of the feeling you’ll get when you cross that finish line.”
Sarah Ball
“The Cleft Lip and Palate Association were really supportive and offered advice, guidance and had a great supply of feeding bottles which I could not have been able to feed Caitlyn without.”
What inspired you to fundraise for CLAPA?
“My 19-year-old daughter Caitlyn was born with a cleft palate and had surgery two days after her first birthday in 2007 to repair the soft palate of her throat.
“She received speech and language therapy for a while, which helped her speech in the long term.
“The Cleft Lip and Palate Association were really supportive and offered advice, and guidance and had a great supply of feeding bottles which I could not have been able to feed Caitlyn without.”
How has your fundraising experience been?
“I love fundraising and raising awareness for the smaller charities as sometimes feel these get missed out compared to some of the bigger charities. It’s also for a cause that has affected my family.
“In the past when Caitlyn was at Primary school, I organised a fun day in the Summer with stalls, a bouncy castle, and other fun things to do. If I remember rightly, It raised over £600 for CLAPA.
My Brother also got sponsored to have his legs waxed! They were very hairy too!”
“In May 2021, around Cleft Lip and Palate Awareness Week, I did a sponsored nine-mile walk and raised £165 too.”
Thank you
Thank you to all of our fundraisers taking part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon 2025.
Register your interest for the 2026 London Landmarks Half Marathon:
