Tom Barton, from our charity partner RBC Brewin Dolphin, took on the epic challenge of the London Marathon 2026 for Meningitis Now.
He tells us in his own words about battling through the pain for a ‘cause that remains so important’:
“Running the London Marathon for Meningitis Now was an experience I’ll never forget. It was my first marathon and, if I’m being honest, it may also be my one and only marathon. I’m still undecided on that point. Either way, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to take part and represent Meningitis Now.
“One of the most rewarding parts of the experience was the fundraising. I was fortunate enough to raise £9,264, which far exceeded anything I thought I would achieve when I first signed up.
Such an important cause
The generosity of friends, family, colleagues, clients and everyone who supported me was incredible, and knowing that the money was going towards such an important cause gave me huge motivation throughout the journey.
“Unfortunately, marathon training didn’t quite go according to plan. Since January I had been dealing with shin splints and a knee niggle, which meant weekly trips to the physio just to keep things moving in the right direction.
"It significantly impacted my training and prevented me from running as much as I would have liked. Despite that, I had perhaps naively convinced myself that race day would somehow be different and that the issues would stay away for 26.2 miles They didn’t.
“The shin splints made themselves known from around 10km in and became increasingly difficult to ignore. Then, from around halfway at Tower Bridge, the bigger challenge arrived in the form of severe cramping.
Just finish the race
"The warm weather certainly didn’t help matters. Very early on I realised I was going to have to let go of my original time aspirations. From that point onwards, the challenge became much simpler: just finish the race.
“Thankfully, one of the things that carried me through was the atmosphere. It was absolutely incredible. Across the entire 26.2 miles there barely seemed to be a single stretch of road without people lining the streets and cheering runners on.
"The support was relentless and gave you little boosts exactly when you needed them most. I was also lucky enough to have lots of friends and family out supporting me along the route, and seeing familiar faces made a huge difference. It was also fantastic seeing the Meningitis Now team at around the 23-mile mark.
Mental battle
“Even with all of that support, there were moments where getting out of the hurt locker felt incredibly difficult. It became a mental battle as much as a physical one.
“After crossing the finish line I had visions of celebrating properly with pizza and drinks, and while we did exactly that, the reality wasn’t quite as glorious as I had imagined beforehand. Nothing tasted particularly good and I mainly just wanted to go to bed.
“Looking back now though, every bit of pain was worth it. Raising money for such an incredible cause made it all worthwhile, particularly for a cause that remains so important and relevant, as with cases recently in the news in Kent.
“I’d love to say I’ll definitely do another marathon one day, but I’m not entirely convinced my legs would agree with me. Maybe I’ll stick to 10Ks in future. Whatever happens, I’m extremely grateful to Meningitis Now for giving me the opportunity to run the London Marathon and represent such an amazing charity.
