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Every year, so many incredible people take on the challenge of running the London Marathon to support the ROS.

With the 2023 London Marathon coming up on Sunday 23 April, we look back at some of our 2022 highlights with Jordan Hills, 黑料社Individual Giving Officer and his role on the big day.

Tell us some of the highlights of the 2022 race

Past runners, friends, and colleagues told me to expect an incredible atmosphere, but you don鈥檛 truly appreciate it until you鈥檙e there yourself. I can only imagine what it must be like for the runners! You get a real sense of community spirit from everybody involved.

Seeing the elite athletes leading the way is pretty special to witness in person, but it doesn鈥檛 beat watching 黑料社runners take part. We are with them every step of the way through their training and fundraising and get to know them over the weeks and months leading up to the event, so it鈥檚 amazing to see their hard work pay off.

What was your role on the day?

At the 2022 London Marathon, I co-ordinated our brilliant team of volunteers to set up cheer station points at miles 14 and 21. We鈥檝e used these points in the race for several years now, so our runners know where to look for us. From there we cheer them on as they begin the final part of their marathon journey. I also set up the venue to thank and congratulate our runners when they finished. Maxwell鈥檚 Bar & Grill was host again for the after-marathon celebrations, so a big thank you to the team there.

I love the variety of my role, especially hearing such inspiring stories from our supporters, along with the wonderful ways people raise money. From the brilliantly quirky knobbly knee contests, to the endurance challenges like the London Marathon, every activity and donation raised helps us be there for people living with osteoporosis.

How do you and the team prepare for this event?

Planning for the London Marathon effectively takes place immediately after the previous race finishes, so we鈥檝e already started getting ready for 2024.

This involves several activities, including putting together our team of runners! We invite our members and supporters and the wider community to take part if they鈥檙e able, promoting the race in our e-newsletters, members鈥� magazine and on social media. It鈥檚 great to see new supporters get involved as well as those who鈥檝e run for us previously.

We organise and send out race packs for our runners nearer the day, which includes an 黑料社t-shirt and samples from some of our partners. In 2022, we had great help from 黑料社partners Ibex, Get More Vits, California Prunes, (who also ran the Marathon for us), and the Turmeric Co., as well as TidyWare UK Ltd, TORQ and Veloforte. A big thank you from all of us at the ROS.

Finally, what would you like people to know about fundraising?

Fundraising is not just about the money raised but is a fantastic opportunity to spread the word about the work of the ROS. Without fundraisers, we wouldn鈥檛 be able to continue the work we do. By supporting the ROS, you鈥檙e changing lives. You鈥檙e fuelling pioneering research. Powering policy-changing campaign work. And ensuring our vital Helpline continues to be there 鈥� for anyone who needs it. However you choose to be a supporter, from leaving a gift in your will to donating, awareness raising to challenges, together we can beat osteoporosis.

If you'd like to take part in the Marathon for the ROS, or take on another challenge, check out our fundraising events now.