Meet our London Marathon married couples

Running the London Marathon is a huge achievement with months of training to get mentally and physically prepared for the gruelling task ahead. In 2026, there are three married couples who have signed up to take on the challenge together to raise money for our charity.

They have trained alongside each other and motivated each other to keep going even on the cold, wet and dark winter days and will be there cheering each other on for the full 26.2 miles in April.

Their training, and fundraising, is a demonstration of true teamwork and their running journeys are a powerful show of partnership and shared goals. Will they inspire you to take on a marathon with your partner or another family member?

Meet Nicola and Ed

Ed’s dad John, served in the RAF and has been supported by our charity since 2023 after a stroke took his eyesight. The married couple from Reading in Berkshire have run half marathons together but this is their first marathon. Nicola says:

“We’ve set ourselves a personal goal to see what we can achieve and thought why not a marathon. The London Marathon is a once in a lifetime for us."

The couple have said they run but they don't love running! In the run up to the event they are taking on two tough mudders and two half marathons to help them prepare. Nicola says:

"It will feel amazing to have covered the marathon distance with Ed by my side. It definitely keeps us motivated training together especially on the long runs and the evening runs as it can get boring on your own! We generally end up spending the long runs chatting which is nice as it gives us some uninterrupted time together! 

"Ed is really good at keeping us going when motivation dips, he’s always making sure we do the runs even when I could easily just sit and relax. He will always stick to my pace too so it never feels impossible to get out and go. We will be doing the whole marathon together! 

“We want to do this to help other blind veterans like Ed’s dad, it isn’t just a personal goal for us. I will cry when we cross that line."

Meet Kathryn and Simon

Kathryn and Simon from Bognor Regis in West Sussex got married in October 2023 having known each other since 1984! They met when their families holidayed in next door caravans four years in a row and although their lives went in different directions, they always stayed in touch. It was in 2020 when they were both on holiday at the same campsite again that life took a different direction.

The pair love running. This will be Simon’s third London Marathon and Kathryn’s second. Kathryn says:

“The London Marathon is an iconic event which gives us the opportunity to do something we enjoy while raising much needed funds for a very worthwhile cause. 

“Simon and I support each other with our weekly training plans and we like to take part in races together as part of our training where we give each other moral support before we begin. After quite a few years of running, I now struggle with recurrent injuries, so I’m determined to keep my body fighting until the end of April but this means we don’t tend to run together as Simon is faster and can run much longer distances without fear of injury."

Kathryn’s dad, Peter, was supported by our charity. Kathryn says: 

“We’ve witnessed, at first hand, what an amazing difference the support dad and mum received from Blind Veterans UK made to their lives. Very sadly we lost dad in October so we see this as not only an opportunity to say thank you, but to also raise money so other blind veterans can have the same support”

Meet Kate and Darren

Kate and Darren wed in November and have only this week returned from their honeymoon. They have both taken on the London Marathon previously but to mark their marriage this will be the first time they have taken it on as a couple. Kate says:

“We wanted to sign up and fundraise for charities that meant something to us as a couple."

Our charity was chosen by the couple as it links to them both.  Darren’s mum was registered blind many years ago and Kate's dad was a wing commander in the RAF. Kate says:

“Rather than asking for wedding gifts, we asked our guests to make a donation to our marathon fundraiser – friends, family and colleagues have been very generous.”

These couples have been busy training together and have been a real boost to one another when motivation has dwindled. 

Whilst marathons aren’t for everyone, we encourage supporters to get involved in whatever way they can through fundraising, donating, volunteering or simply cheering our runners from the side lines: