Former gymnastics champion, Mike Hawthorne, 53, ran the London Marathon to raise money for Sense the national deafblind charity. Mike, who was the first deaf person to win the National Gymnastics Championships in 1987, completed the 26.2 mile race in 6:50min.
“I was injured before marathon day so I had to walk for most of it. But it was really exciting taking part in one of the biggest races in the world! I know first-hand the challenges that come with having hearing loss and I wanted to help people who are both deaf and blind to get the support that they need,” Mike said.
Mike is a volunteer team leader for Friday’s 50 Club in Green Lanes, where he’s been organising social events for deaf people for the last two years. Originally from Essex, he moved to Islington twenty years ago to be part of the deaf community in the borough.
Mike managed to raised �1,650 for Sense.
If you would like to add to this total you can sponsor Mike here.