Marathon runners talk of "big moment"

The marathon takes place in the historic city of York

More than 10,000 people took to the historic streets of York on Sunday for the Yorkshire Marathon Festival.

The event included the 26.2-mile Yorkshire Marathon, a wheelchair marathon and the Yorkshire 10 Mile race.

The event, celebrating its 11th year, stared and finished at the University of York and took in York Minster and the ancient city walls.

Alongside a field of elite athletes competing for a £10,000 prize, fun runners also participated raising money for multiple charities. We met a few ahead of the event to hear their stories.

'I carry an oxygen tank when running'

Graham Robinson will be joined by running club team mates who will carry spare oxygen tanks

Graham Robinson, who has emphysema, is raising money for the Asthma and Lung Foundation and will be supported by members of Pickering Running Club, of which he is a member.

He has been running for more than 50 years and will be taking on the marathon with an 11lb (5kg) oxygen tank on his back.

He said: “I did the London Marathon in 2018 and a couple of months later I was having problems breathing.

“When I did see the consultant I was diagnosed with emphysema.

“Now I have to carry an oxygen tank when running or jogging.

“It’s like a backpack and it’s quite comfortable actually.

"Every time I breathe it releases air into my lungs, which can last up to about 11 miles at a time.

“When I do the marathon I’ve got a support runner, Simon, who runs at my club in Pickering, and when I run out of air we swap over tanks."

Other members of the club will be around the course with reserve tanks for Mr Robinson.

'The Vikings know me quite well'

Becca Bell joined her husband Tom who dressed as a Viking for last year's Yorkshire Marathon

Becca Bell is running the marathon for the second time.

Her husband Tom, with whom she ran last year, has organised a Viking cheer point for her near Stamford Bridge.

“I ran with Tom last year when he was in battle gear, so I have done the Yorkshire Marathon before but it was done at his pace in his full Viking kit.”

“The Vikings know me quite well, so one of them will be able to spot me,” she said.

This year she’s running for Tickled Pink, which supports breast cancer charities CoppaFeel! and Breast Cancer Now.

Mr Bell, who is a member of the 1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge Heritage Society, is not running this year but will be waiting at mile 12 with the rest of the Viking gang.

He said: “I will track her on the app and we’ll have a reception ready for her, or a chair.”

“We’ve invited a load of local enthusiasts down to Stamford Bridge and from 10:15 to 14:00 we’ll be at The Three Cups pub.

“We’ve got music and a big war drum and there will be a free pint for anybody in full battle gear. So hopefully we’ll have a good crowd.”

'I took up running as an escape'

Matthew Turner picked up running in 2021

The York race will be Matthew Turner from Sheffield’s first marathon after giving up alcohol last year.

He said sobriety had turned his life around.

“I had quite a turbulent start to my 20s. I had quite a lack of self-belief in quite a lot of what I was doing and that got me into quite bad avoidance behaviours.

“I drank lots of alcohol and that basically got me into a bit of a whirlwind where everyday was just trying to keep my head above the water that led to several bouts of depression that got quite bad and quite a few failed relationships.

“Eventually I took up running as an escape from all that.

“It was one of the biggest saving graces for me – to avoid all them feelings of lack of self-belief.”

On New Year’s Day he decided to give up drinking all together.

“I woke up that morning, back living with my parents, I was sweaty, I was sad, I stank, just not in a good place, and I thought 'this isn’t the way to carry on living my life'.

“It was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

He is aiming to complete the marathon in less than four hours and said he was running to prove to himself that he could do it.

"The marathon is the last measure of change in this new life. So it's going to be quite a big moment on Sunday."

'It’s really close to my heart'

Jade Moore and her dad on her wedding day

Jade Moore is running for her mum and uncle, who survived cancer in 2022, and her dad, who was given a terminal diagnosis a few weeks ago.

She has raised more than £1,000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research.

She said: “I’m not really a runner. I did a 10k towards the end of last year with some friends and that was the longest I’d ever ran and I really enjoyed it.

“I decided in January, like thousands of other people, that it was going to be my month that I really got into running so I ran every day,” she said.

She decided to turn her new hobby into something to support her family.

“We’ve had a few battles with cancer in my family. Success stories with my mum and my uncle over the last few years and at the minute we’re battling it with my dad.

“He’s doing amazing. He’s doing chemotherapy at the minute and that’s research that Yorkshire Cancer Research support so it’s really close to my heart and all my family’s heart.”

She said her husband, who would be there on Sunday, had been a huge support through the challenges of the last few years.

"He's held my hand through the toughest of times and will be cheering from the side lines on Sunday."

She is planning to celebrate completing the marathon with a luxury hotel stay “with a lovely bath and sauna”.

As part of the event roads will be temporary closed across the city, with the main closure on University Road, which will be unavailable from 10:00 (BST) on Saturday to 23:00 on Sunday.

Bus diversions are in place and parking is suspended throughout much of the city centre.

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