100 customers win Virgin London Marathon places

Virgin Money customers will be running up at least £50,000 for charity in next year's Virgin London Marathon thanks to a nationwide competition.

The financial services group gave away 100 places in the April 25th race through London which it is sponsoring for the first time in 2010.

Customers had to pledge to raise at least £500 for charity which means at least £50,000 will be raised for good causes. Once Gift Aid is added the figure swells to a whopping £62,500.

The runners will receive advice from Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling at special training sessions at Dorney Lake in Windsor, which is the venue for the Rowing and Kayak events in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Each workshop at the Eton College-owned venue will be different and the course is designed to ensure runners are prepared to make their marathon journey a success in every way.

As well as advice on training and motivation to ensure they are prepared for the 26.2 mile race they will receive tips on maximising fundraising efforts.

Joanna Barnett, Executive Director at Virgin Money Giving, said: "The Marathon is the world's largest annual fundraising day and Virgin is determined to do all it can to ensure charities receive the maximum benefit from the efforts of runners.

"Our Virgin 100 team will raise at least £50,000 and we want to help them to do as well as they can both in running the race and in raising money for the good causes which are at the heart of the Virgin London Marathon."

Research by virginmoneygiving.com among charities and fundraisers shows online giving is potentially more efficient than traditional sponsorship forms and collection tins and can increase the use of Gift Aid.

virginmoneygiving.com, which is free for fundraisers, charges a flat £100 + VAT registration fee for charities and a 2% fee on all donations before Gift Aid which means for every £10 donation charities will receive £12.46.

As a not-for-profit business Virgin Money Giving charges charities the minimum fees needed to cover the running costs of the site.

virginmoneygiving.com is the official sponsorship website of the Virgin London Marathon, Royal Parks Half Marathon and Sony ‘Run to the Beat'.