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The unpredictable British weather has put a stop to an Action Medical Research supporter’s bid to break a World Record.
Lee Collier, 42, had hoped to beat the time for the fastest male dressed as a mascot at this Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon. However, the forecasted temperatures for the capital on Sunday 22 April would mean that running at that pace would be ‘unrealistic’.
Lee, a photographer from Blandford Forum, was due to attempt the feat while wearing the official Paddington Bear™ running costume; Paddington™ has been Action’s official mascot for over 40 years.
Speaking on Friday before the race Lee said: “It’s a shame, but trying to keep at World Record pace was always going to be a challenge even without the hot weather. It just wouldn’t be realistic to try and beat that sort of time.”
This decision follows guidance from race organisers to be mindful of the weather conditions.
Lee - who has run a number of marathons over the past decade - has decided to still wear the Paddington suit around the course, but will instead run at a more leisurely pace.
“I’ll have a Camelback water bottle under the suit and will take regular stops. If it does get too much I’ll be wearing my running stuff underneath anyway so I can always take it off. It’ll be a great atmosphere and it will be brilliant to see everyone cheering me on!”
Lee is hoping to raise £2,000 for Action by completing the London Marathon as well as the Salisbury Half in October 2018
Action Medical Research is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children. It has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.
The charity is currently funding research into conditions including asthma, prematurity, epilepsy, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS:
To download a photo of Lee:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/lee_collier.jpg
Read more about Lee’s preparations in this short blog:
https://www.action.org.uk/blog/2018/04/04/preparing-beat-2-world-records
Lee’s fundraising page:
https://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/LeeCollierVLM2018
Lee will be running with his girlfriend Alie and they both hope to raise £2000 each for us.
About Paddington:
For 60 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has delighted children and families all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Darkest Peru, famous for his love of marmalade. Paddington is popular with children and adults alike who feel affectionate and warm towards him; the charm and humour of the Paddington stories is the key to their enduring popularity.
Paddington’s adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen. The movie, produced by StudioCanal, part of the international content and media group Vivendi, is the best-selling non-Hollywood family movie ever released. A second Paddington movie, Paddington 2, launched globally at the end of 2017 to great critical acclaim.
In 2016, Vivendi took full ownership of the Paddington brand worldwide, with the exception of the classic publishing rights.
In 2015, in recognition of Paddington’s extraordinary popularity and success, Michael Bond was made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to children’s literature. Michael Bond died in June 2017, leaving behind a legacy of one of the best loved children’s characters in the world. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the first book, A Bear Called Paddington, which was published by William Collins on 13th October 1958.
Follow Paddington on Twitter at @paddingtonbear
Like Paddington’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PaddingtonBear/
©P&Co. Ltd./SC 2018
Licensed on behalf of STUDIOCANAL S.A.S by Copyrights Group
For more information on Action Medical Research, contact Peter Denton, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:
T: 01403 327412
E:pdenton@action.org.uk
W: action.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter at @actionmedres and @amr_events
Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/actionmedres
Follow us on Instagram at @actionmedres and @actionevents
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For more than 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.