THE boss of a local charity is celebrating after raising more than £2,800 by completing the London Marathon.
St Giles Hospice’s CEO Elinor Eustace completed the course in just over five hours – and exceeded her original fundraising target of £100 for each mile covered.
She said the conditions had been a challenge on the day.
“I achieved a lifelong dream of running the London Marathon – but it was the fourth hottest one on record.
“I had a great start and loved every step until mile 17 when I felt the wall racing towards me.
“At mile 19 I really slowed my pace, knowing that the finish line was more important than the finish time.
“But I did it. It was an awesome experience and the crowds were just unbelievable—they really do restore your faith in humanity. Thank you for every single cheer.
“Thank you to all who supported me and donated. You were with me every step of the way.”
The achievement marks the culmination of months of dedicated training, including a challenging 22.5-mile preparation run just two weeks before the event.
Elinor said:
“Running a marathon is not just about the event itself. It’s months of training, dealing with injuries, tears, rain-soaked runs, blisters and putting other parts of your life on hold to get the miles in – that’s the real marathon.”
Her marathon journey included a symbolic 16-mile training run from St Giles Hospice in Whittington to their Sutton Coldfield site on Lindridge Road and back again.
The challenge held personal significance for Elinor, whose own connection with hospice care began in 1998 when her grandmother received end of life care.
This experience, combined with her aunt’s later journey, ultimately led her to a career in the hospice sector.
She said:
“Every mile I ran and every pound raised helps support local families when they need us most.
“Whether it’s £32 funding an hour of inpatient care, £66 covering a specialist nurse home visit, or £768 providing 24 hours of end of life care – the outpouring of support has been incredible and I’m so grateful to everyone who donated.”
People can still donate via Elinor’s online fundraising page.
The ceo of Saint Giles hospice earns over £130k per year. £2800 is approx. 1/2 a months take home pay for someone on that sum.
Just for a little perspective.
Congratulations on achieving your “ Lifelongs Dream of Running a Marathon” perhaps now as a Celebration you could also Donate some of CEO Salary to the Charity.
Just a thought.
£130k a year? That beggars belief and just wondering how many full time / part time nurses that could be employed for that massive amount of money.
This seems mean spirited to me. The CEO put a lot of effort into being able to run the marathon and at the end of it the hospice had more money than it had before. We do not know about her own contributions to charity from her own salary. To complain about the money raised compared to her salary for running a large and compicated business is an irrelevance.