A Bridport couple have completed the London Marathon together, raising more than £4,000 for charity.

Patrick and Janet Letherby completed the marathon in approximately 6 hours, raising £4,500 for Alzheimer’s Society and Multiple Sclerosis-UK.

The retired nurses from Bridport Community Hospital described the run as ‘gruelling and emotional,’ but at the same time they added that it was ‘an amazing experience being cheered on all the way by the crowd, family and friends.’

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Janet, who previously ran the race nine years ago, said: “We were retiring, and my husband had it on his bucket list – I probably slowed him down a bit, we could have gone off on our own, but it wasn’t about that.”

The couple revealed that they wanted to run the marathon in honour of their parents and children.

Janet's mother is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, which is why they believed it was important to raise money for the cause.

On the Saturday before the marathon, it was the anniversary of the death of Patrick's mother which made the event even more important to the couple.

Multiple Sclerosis-UK is also a charity close to the pair’s hearts.

Patrick said: “We are both nurses, so we have looked after lots of people with MS in the Bridport area.”

He added: “The charity is about supporting the community – especially during covid – they offered help and advice and during a period that it was very difficult.”

The husband-and-wife duo have had loads of support from those around them including their three daughters who live in London and cheered them on in the race.

The pair started their marathon training a year ago, running four times a week across Bridport and the Dorset countryside – and frequently taking part in the parkrun.

During the summer they opted to run at 6.30am to avoid the hot weather but the early starts didn’t bring them down as they were ‘rewarded by some fantastic sunrises.’

They achieved their fundraising amount through numerous car boot and online sales, as well as cake and craft stalls and generous donations from family and friends.

The duo, aged 66 and 61, have continued running and plan to take part in future marathons.

They would like to thank the local business that supported them including Hallmark windows, Boilerman and Palmers Brewery.