Hospitality crosses the finish line at 2025 London Marathon

Several figures from the hospitality industry ran the London Marathon over the weekend, raising thousands of pounds for charity.

 

Robbie Laidlaw, business development director at Genuine Dining, completed the 26.2 mile-long run in 4 hours 37 minutes and raised over £6,000 for the British Heart Foundation – three times his initial fundraising target.

 

Laidlaw chose the charity in honour of his one-year-old son Gray, who was born with Down Syndrome.

 

Gray is currently preparing for open heart surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London as he suffers from partial atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD), which is commonly found in babies with Down Syndrome.

 

Laidlaw said: “Wow! I’m honestly blown away. We hit the fundraising target in just two hours. It just goes to show what an incredibly kind and supportive industry we’re part of. Thank you so much.

 

“Our focus is on Gray, supporting his development and giving him everything he needs to enjoy a happy, fulfilling life. Running the London Marathon was our way of saying thank you to the incredible healthcare professionals who are caring for Gray and the many others in similar circumstances.”

 

David McColgan, head of British Heart Scotland, added: “Congratulations to Robbie for his incredible and inspiring achievement, completing the London Marathon in honour of his son Gray.

 

“There are 13 babies diagnosed with a heart defect every day in the UK and funds raised by wonderful fundraisers like Robbie help the British Heart Foundation to continue our research to improve and save lives – keeping families together for longer. This support for our life-saving work is so appreciated and remains at the heart of our efforts to beat heartbreak forever.”

 

Image: Robbie Laidlaw/LinkedIn

 

Meanwhile, Sam Dooks, finance director at UK and Ireland at Caffè Nero, also ran the London Marathon in memory of his late wife Sally, who lost her five-long-month battle with cancer at the end of March.

 

He raised over £42,000 for the Isabel Hospice, which provides free end-of-life care, and finished the marathon despite only having three weeks to train for the run.

 

Dooks said: “I was very lucky to get a place [on the London Marathon] last November, just before Sally got her cancer diagnosis, who then fought bravely for five or six months and I’d long since abandoned any idea of running the marathon. I did very little training and all of my focus was on Sally and the girls but she insisted in literally her final breaths on the day she passed that I run it in order to raise money for the hospice so I was very inspired by her.

 

“The hospice was incredible. I had very little idea quite how important and the breadth of services the hospice could offer for my family and my three daughters. It was just everything for a very intense two week period.”

 

A number of chefs also completed the marathon, including Gaetano Farucci, head chef at the Michelin-starred Caractère in London’s Notting Hill.

 

He posted on Instagram: “This marathon was special because we ran as three. This race was for you, our little Giorgia. We can’t wait to meet you and have you cheering for Dad at the next marathon.”

 

Meanwhile, Paul Ainsworth, chef patron at the Michelin-starred Paul Ainsworth at No 6 in Cornwall, ran the London Marathon in support of Pancreatic Cancer UK – the charity he raised money for back in 2019, when he completed the same run in 5 hours 24 minutes. This year, he finished the run in under four hours, despite the “brutal” heat.

 

He said: “A huge thank you to the entire London Marathon team and all the volunteers and the lovely lady who helped me after the finish line. I was in the hurt locker big time.”

 

Congratulations to all the runners and supporters of the 2025 London Marathon!