Ella Marchant, 23, was the youngest of Jewish Care’s team of ten which ran up a £35,000-plus total.

The pharmacist said that having volunteered for the charity from the age of 13, she knew the positive impact it made on people’s lives.

“I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. My best part was running over Tower Bridge. It was incredible to see the views of London and hear the cheering.”

Finishing in 4:41, she ran with friend Rachel Sonn, a learning support assistant at JCoSS, “and I don’t think I could have done it without her by my side”.
Other friends running together were Laura Margolis (5:31), a volunteer team leader at the
Michael Sobell Community Centre, and Anastasia Daniels.

Ms Margolis said that “seeing our friends, family and colleagues from Jewish Care cheering us on at various points around the course gave us the lift we needed to push on to the end.

“I ran the marathon 33 years ago with my late father and as a regular runner, I’ve always felt
I wanted to give it another go. When the race day was changed from April to October post-Covid, it meant training through the summer months rather than winter so I knew now was the time to go for it.”

Jewish Care marathon runner Rachel Sonn and Jewish Care volunteer and marathon runner Ella Marchant

Jewish Care marathon runner Rachel Sonn and Jewish Care volunteer and marathon runner Ella Marchant

Jeweller Diane Sherling, 48, who crossed the finish line in 6:26, had the motivation of thanking Jewish Care for the “amazing support for my grandma when she lived at Rosetrees care home. And over lockdown, Jewish Care’s online programmes were amazing for my mum.”

It was a first marathon for former Young Jewish Care chair Rob Sher (4:01). Father and daughter Harris and Sabina Tilevitz also ran together (4:54) and fastest of the Jewish Care contingent was Thomas Prais, who broke the four hour barrier.