Virgin London Marathon

At 9:00am on Friday 16th May 2008, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin has nominated the UK leading children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent as the official charity for the first Virgin London Marathon in 2010.

CLIC Sargent celebrity patrons Barry McGuigan and Eddie Jordan accepted the nomination on behalf of the Charity, at a press launch in London.

At the launch, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin had signed a five year deal, which starts in 2010, to take over as the official sponsor of the London Marathon from Flora.

Being selected by Virgin is fantastic news for CLIC Sargent and our running team and represents an unprecedented opportunity for the Charity to massively increase our global profile and fundraising income from this event. We aim to raise over £1.5million from this partnership and by establishing us as a key competitor in the market, we hope to treble the number of people running on our behalf.

Carole Easton, Chief Executive, CLIC Sargent says:

"CLIC Sargent is delighted to accept the nomination as the official charity partner for the Virgin London Marathon 2010.

"The money raised will mean we can provide essential all round care and support to children and young people with cancer and their families from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond, in hospital and in the community. We are entirely reliant on voluntary donations to do our work, and as a result of this Virgin London Marathon partnership we will be able to help many more children and young people across the UK".

For further information please call Clare Gallie, Head of UK Fundraising on 0117 311 2631.