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london marathon

London Marathon 2026 success

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

Spread a Smile’s largest-ever London Marathon team crossed the finish line this weekend, with 15 incredible runners completing the full 26.2 miles to raise vital funds for our work bringing joy to seriously ill children across the UK.

It was a beautiful day with an incredible atmosphere, as crowds lined the route to cheer on the marathon’s 59,000 participants, including our very special 15 who made us incredibly proud.

Every member of our team spent months preparing, fundraising and training, and their commitment and determination shone through from start to finish. Our team was dotted along the course and out in full force at the cheer points, supporting runners along the route and making sure they knew we were there every step of the way.

By taking on this remarkable personal challenge, the team raised vital funds for Spread a Smile, supporting our work bringing joy and laughter to seriously ill children in NHS hospitals across the UK. The London Marathon is an extraordinary achievement for everyone involved and makes a real difference to charities like ours.

One of our runners, Josh, shared his experience of the day:

“The heat made something already so challenging, at times unbearable but I GOT IT DONE!!! Through the many, many times I had to dig deep, I reminded myself of everybody’s incredible generosity and most importantly the real strength and resilience shown by the children and families, and the heroics of everybody at ‘Spread a Smile’. Thank you so, so, so much everyone!!”

If you have been inspired by the London Marathon, there are still places available to join us at the Royal Parks Half Marathon on 11 October. It’s a great opportunity to achieve something amazing while raising vital funds to support our work.

A heartfelt thank you to our 15 incredible runners, who took on the full London Marathon and made us immensely proud with their determination, commitment and spirit. We are also incredibly grateful to everyone who donated, cheered and supported our Team Smile runners.

To hear more about our events, fundraising opportunities and the impact of our work, sign up to our e-newsletter to stay up to date with our latest news.

Meet our London Marathon Runners

 780 400 Gabrielle Devine
By:

With the 2026 London Marathon just two days away, we’re proud to shine a spotlight on two very special members of Team Smile.

Meet Josh Crocker, son of our co-founder Vanessa, and Nicole Segal, daughter of our co-founder Josephine. It means so much to see the next generation of our founders’ families stepping up to give their time, energy and dedication to the charity.

Josh shares:

“I am really excited to be running the Marathon for Spread a Smile. Over the last 13 years I have seen how much the charity has grown and I am so proud to be raising funds to support their vital work.”

Nicole said:

“Running the London Marathon for Spread a Smile and the incredible families it supports is an absolute honour. I’ve been fortunate enough to see first-hand the impact that even the smallest moments of joy can bring. I’ll be thinking of the inspiring children, their siblings and families, the amazing entertainers, wider team and medical professionals with every mile.”

This year, we have 15 incredible runners taking on the marathon – our biggest team ever! We couldn’t be prouder or more grateful to every single one of them. If you’re heading down on Sunday, keep an eye out for Team Smile runners and give them a cheer.

Good luck to everyone taking part this weekend – we’re behind you every step of the way!

Feeling inspired? Join Team Smile at the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday 11 October and help us continue bringing joy to seriously ill children across the country.

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Spread a Smile superheroes wear running trainers

 780 400 Susie
By:

It seems apt that the day after the TCS London Marathon is National Superheroes Day. So today on 28 April, we’re celebrating our 17 brilliant, superhero London Marathon runners for taking on this iconic event on behalf of Spread a Smile and together raising over £53,000 to support our vital work spreading smiles to seriously ill children and young people.

It really was an incredible day with an incredible atmosphere, with the largest team of runners we’ve ever seen running for Team Smile.

We joined our friends from Children with Cancer UK along the route at miles 6, 12 and 24 to make sure we showed as much support as possible to our team. After the race, we welcomed many of our runners to a post run party with Children with Cancer UK, with Spread a Smile entertainers hosting the children’s entertainment area. Fairy Jasmin was there to spread some Spread a Smile sparkle, artist Sophie delighted with her creative face painting and magicians Ian and Nick brought the magic touch to the party.

We can’t thank our runners – Andrei, Cara, Carly, Chris, Craig, Dylan, Gavin, Hazel, Jack, Joseph, Max, Myfanwy, Nat, Nick, Ollie, Richard and Will – enough for their support and commitment. Together they have raised an incredible amount which will make a huge impact to our work brining joy and laughter to seriously ill children and young people during their darkest times.

Join Team Smile in 2026!  Click here to register your interest for a Team Smile 2026 London Marathon places Or email us to find out about joining us for the London to Brighton bike ride or our Three Peaks Challenge.

London Marathon success

 780 400 Susie
By:

Nine amazing runners joined Team Smile for the TCS London Marathon this year.

Andy, Carly, Charlotte, Dawn, Jake, Jemma, Marcus and Martin all took on this incredible challenge in aid of Spread a Smile, together raising over £30,000 to help us spread smiles to seriously ill children and their families.

“I just wanted to say thank you so much for your support and for the opportunity to run. It was such an incredible experience, and the atmosphere was amazing.” Marcus Godfrey, Team Smile runner

The London Marathon is one of the world’s most popular marathons, covering 26.2 miles around the streets of our beautiful capital city, taking in London’s best landmarks including Buckingham Palace, The Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf.

Spread a Smile was delighted to be there on the day, in partnership with Children with Cancer UK, to cheer our teams on along the route. With 50,000 runners in total, the experience was one not to be forgotten and everyone at Spread a Smile felt proud to support such a dedicated team of runners.

Lucy Jackson, Spread a Smile Chief Executive said, “By taking on the London Marathon, Team Smile truly went the extra mile in support of Spread a Smile. We loved cheering them on and were delighted to welcome them to a special post-race party with our friends from Children with Cancer UK, where we celebrated their achievements with entertainment, magic and games for the families. We can’t wait for next year and a huge thank you to all of our amazing runners for their hard work and commitment and for raising so much to spread smiles when they are needed most.”

To find out more about our upcoming events and joining Team Smile, please click here or email Rimi at rimi@spreadasmile.org

Team Smile takes on the London Marathon

 780 400 Susie
By:

This weekend, nine incredible supporters will take on the iconic TCS London Marathon in aid of Spread a Smile.

The London Marathon is one of the world’s most popular marathons, covering 26.2 miles around the streets of our beautiful capital city, taking in London’s best landmarks including Buckingham Palace, The Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf.

We spoke to Team Smile marathon runner, Charlotte Weatherall – Director of Sales & Marketing at Corinthia London – about the race ahead, her training and motivations for taking on this amazing challenge and supporting Spread a Smile.

Charlotte: “I ran my first marathon in 2009 in New York with the only goal of getting over the finish line and with no intention of ever doing another one. Since then, I have run 10 marathons in total, including the Brighton Marathon earlier this month. The London Marathon will be my 11th which seems quite fitting seeing as it’s also Spread a Smile’s 11th birthday this month. 

“There is something special about running a marathon – the commitment to training, feeling fitter and heathier and then the magic of the day itself. It hurts and it’s as much a mental challenge as a physical one. But the sense of achievement when you finish is so special it encourages you back to try again.

“I started training for the London Marathon at the beginning of the year and have managed to stick to my plan on the whole. The longer runs of 16, 18 and 20 miles are hard – they take a long time and they hurt. With a young family to juggle alongside work and training there is no rest. The hardest part has been managing the long runs and then still showing up and being a parent, when all I want to do is lie on the sofa! Having my family behind me has kept me going and time is precious, so better use it for something meaningful. The sofa can wait for another day.

“I was introduced to Spread a Smile during the pandemic when the hotel I worked for at the time wanted to gift boxes of afternoon tea and vouchers to NHS hospitals as a thank you for their amazing work during Covid. A mutual friend introduced me to the charity and they helped us set up the initiative and we gifted boxes to NHS key workers. I was instantly impressed and inspired by the charity’s passion and energy and everyone I met and spoke to was so wonderful.

“Since I joined Corinthia London two years ago, I have been able to nominate Spread a Smile as the hotel’s partner charity. Now in the second year of partnership, I feel very proud to see colleagues getting behind the charity and supporting events and initiatives as well as fundraising.

“I organised a team of colleagues from Corinthia London to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon last October and we raised over £13,000, which was an incredibly proud moment. When the team at Spread a Smile mentioned they might be able to get a spot for me in the London Marathon, I jumped at the chance. There is no other marathon like it in the world!

“As a mother of two, there is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for their health. Love for a child is like nothing I have experienced, and I find it an unbearable thought to imagine that being taken away. I have always empathised with what the children and families supported by Spread a Smile must go through whilst having nothing but respect and admiration for their positivity in the face of adversity.

“I believe Spread a Smile help at the most challenging moments for a family and if I can be a small part in helping that continue, then it is an absolute privilege to do so.

“To anyone thinking of taking on a challenge like the London Marathon for Spread a Smile, I say “do it!” You will never regret it once you cross the finish line and the sense of achievement and pride in yourself for making the commitment, training, raising money and then doing what you agreed to do on the day, is a feeling like no other.”

A huge thank you and GOOD LUCK from everyone at Spread a Smile to Charlotte and all of our amazing marathon runners for their commitment, efforts and support. You’ve got this!