A BASINGSTOKE man is celebrating after finishing the London Marathon in aid of the Ark Cancer Centre Charity.

Richard Pilbeam, a 39-year-old father-of-two, completed the London Marathon in four hours, 36 minutes and 56 seconds. It was Richard’s first marathon, and he is closing in on his goal of raising £1,000 for Ark Cancer Centre Charity, helping to fund a local cancer treatment centre.

Richard was motivated to run for the good cause having lost a grandmother and mother-in-law to cancer and he is delighted to have achieved his aims of completing the marathon and raising a lot of money for his chosen charity.

“It was a great day and a great experience,” said Richard. “The atmosphere is something that you really have to savour, and it was lovely to hear so many people supporting me and chanting my name as I ran round the course.”

Mark Jones, director of fundraising and communications at Ark Cancer Centre Charity, said: “Congratulations to Richard on his marathon fundraising feat. He is our first-ever Virgin London Marathon runner, and it is great that he had such a memorable and successful experience at this world-famous event. Thank you to everyone who has supported him and the charity.”

Richard, who is a residential services officer at a respite centre for people with disabilities, has been raising money through The Good Exchange match-funding platform, which means that every pound donated will be matched by Greenham Common Trust, which is supporting Ark Cancer Centre Charity.

Anyone who wants to support Richard’s fundraising mission can do so by going to the website here.