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Volunteering At The London Marathon |
 Every year the London Marathon comes to town bringing with it thousands of runners and an army of volunteers. In April 2005, the capital welcomed 32,000 runners from across the UK and beyond; representing the entire spectrum of abilities, ages and backgrounds. This short programme gives a fascinating insight into the variety of roles undertaken by this dedicated group of volunteers.
The sporting sector makes the biggest contribution to volunteering in England, with over five million volunteers contributing to sporting activities across the country. As with most sporting events, the London Marathon could not happen at all without the support and dedication of its volunteers - more than 7,500 in 2005, who brought with them an incredible level of commitment.
In Greenwich Park, a team of volunteers organise the thousands of runners gathering to begin the race. Many come from athletics clubs around the country and have the necessary experience to help organise this mammoth event. “It’s about having bodies in the right places and without volunteers I cannot see that there would be enough people to do all the marshalling that we do," says one such volunteer.
 Those running in the marathon consume more than 710,000 bottles of water from 23 water stations along the route, each staffed by a team of volunteers to hand out the bottles to everyone from the professional runners to the crowds of ‘fun-runners’.
More than 1,600 volunteers from the St John Ambulance join the marathon each year to provide medical and first aid cover, helping to treat some 4,000 runners for problems like skin chaffing, muscle strain and dehydration.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 04 December 2006 )
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