The inspiration began in 490 BC with Pheidippides ...
when the Athenian army defeated the Persians in the Bay of Marathon and the herald Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to bring news of victory. The legend of Pheidippides was honoured by a 24.85 mile (40,000 meter) run from the Marathon Bridge to the Olympic Stadium in Athens in the first modern Olympics in 1896.
..then 2,476 years later in 1986...
To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first Olympic Games John Campbell put together a team of 9, including his oldest friend, Dick Haldane and David Hall and Jo Shellard who were later to join Campbell Lutyens, to run that year's Athens marathon. All were novice marathoners, but each took on the challenge of this original marathon course, raising £25,000 for charity.
..which led to the Centenary Athens Marathon in 1996...
A committee of John, Dick and Jo organised a team of 100 friends and colleagues including, from Campbell Lutyens, Andrew Sealey, Oliver Stocken, William Knight and Colin McColl, to run this Centenary Marathon to raise money for children's charities in each continent represented by the five Olympic rings. A total of over £400,000 was raised.
..around the United Kingdom in 2000...
In 2000 Dick Haldane co-ordinated a committee of six including John and Jo to organise “The Island Race” - a first ever 4,200 mile relay around the coastline of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) under the patronage of HRH The Princess Royal with the baton being presented to the Queen Mother at the Castle of Mey to commemorate her 100th birthday. Sebastian Coe, who ran the first leg from Buckingham Palace, was a trustee and Bruce Tulloh provided runner advice and training. The event raised over £1.25 million for a range of charities. The relay took 100 days with 100 teams representing different aspects of British life at the Millennium. Campbell Lutyens also fielded a team of runners on Day 46 of the Relay to honour the contribution of the Private Equity sector to life in Britain and the co-founders of PEI, then with Euromoney, ran Day 43 from St. Mawes to Penzance.
..across Russia in 2005...
In 2005 Dick and The Island Race team went on to organise The Russian Race - a relay race from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg, another first. Campbell Lutyens sponsored the week from Taldan to Nizhnyaya Kuenga in central Siberia. The runners were all serious marathoners who ran a half marathon (in 100 minutes) every day for 6 or 12 days. The route of 11,000 kilometres - one-third of the circumference of the earth - was completed in 15 weeks at an average of 122 kms per day and spanned 8 time zones and two continents. These seasoned marathoners raised $400,000 for orphaned and homeless Russian children.
..and now back to Athens in 2010
To complete the circle, this 2,500th anniversary run in the steps of Pheidippides is the most ambitious fund raising event yet. We call on 250 representatives of the Private Equity and Infrastructure communities, together with their friends, to participate - particularly first time marathoners. It is those who, by amazing their friends as well as themselves, will raise the greatest sums of money to contribute to the €2.5 million fund raising target for children in difficulty throughout the world. Please join us!
