The 2024 London Marathon proved to be a day chock-full of emotions for three Cumbrian colleagues from Armstrong Watson.
Lauren Graham, Barry Fitzsimmons, and Alex Rose made up a fraction of the race's 50,000-strong crowd of runners.
The event centres around a 26.2-mile route across the capital.
Ms Graham, a seasoned trail and long-distance runner suddenly found herself standing at the start line of her first London Marathon.
She said: "It was the most incredible race I’ve ever done.
"The cheers from the crowds at Tower Bridge actually made me cry.
"It was a very emotional race.
"The support in the last 10k spurred me on to get under my target time of sub 3.10."
"I would recommend everyone to enter the ballot! It was hands down the best event I have been to with such a fantastic atmosphere."
Ms Graham, an audit and assurance director in Carlisle, secured her place in the race via the ballot and raised funds for Carlisle Youth Zone, an organisation for which she serves as a trustee.
She carries ambition to brave the gruelling Eiger 50k trail run in Switzerland this July, hoping to fundraise for the same cause.
Mr Fitzsimmons, running his fourth London Marathon and first since his last in 1993, did so in remembrance of his late brother-in-law, Chris Hill who passed away in June last year.
He has managed to raise more than £2,800 for WellChild, a charity that takes care of severely ill children, a cause close to his heart.
Mr Hill had worked for WellChild, Armstrong Watson's charity of the month for March, and the charity had taken care of Mr Fitzsimmons' daughter who was critically ill during the first year of her life.
Mr Fitzsimmons, a financial planning consultant in Kendal, said: "I was exhausted but humbled by the love and support shown.
"The atmosphere was incredible and the support from the crowd was unbelievable.
"Humanity and London at its absolute finest!"
His fellow Kendal colleague, Mr Rose, was entered into the ballot by a friend and was shocked to find he was the only one out of the friend group to get a place.
The accounting assistant said: "I felt ecstatic whilst completing the marathon.
"It was one of the best experiences of my life and something I would love to do again.
"I sustained an ankle injury at about 16 miles, which made the last 10 miles rather painful.
"The euphoria of the crowd and the adrenaline managed to carry me to the finish line and the support was unlike anything I had ever seen before."
Paul Dickson, Armstrong Watson CEO said: "We are incredibly proud of our colleagues who took part in the London Marathon.
"It is a huge achievement, and they have all done so well, whilst raising a lot of money for brilliant charities.”
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