RUNNING shoes, fancy dress and even juggling clubs were required as scores of fundraisers from the borough and Potters Bar tackled the London Marathon at the weekend.

Tens of thousands of pounds was raised for a variety of charities by participants who completed the gruelling 26.2 mile course on Sunday.

Twenty six runners raised £80,000 for Norwood which will go towards supporting the charity's work with people with learning disabilities, and children and families in need.

One of the fundraisers was 66-year-old great grandmother Flora Frank, who is hoping to raise £12,000 this year. She has already completed 21 marathons for the charity and finished on Sunday in five hours and fifty minutes.

She said: “I’m very passionate about Norwood and I think it is such an important charity.

“At one point, some people recognised me and all started chanting my name. It was an amazing boost.”

Daniel Mitchell, 23, from Edgware, who raised about £2,700, said running the marathon for Norwood was his chance to “give something back”.

He added: “Norwood helped me out when I was younger.

“I had some family issues and Norwood came to the rescue and offered me counselling. I wanted other children to have the chance to receive the help that my siblings and I had.”

First-timer Asher Budwig, 21, a student from Hampstead Garden Suburb, Nicola Cane, 28, from Mill Hill, who is a systems analyst, and 20-year-old Leeor Levy, a student who lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb, also ran for the charity.

Medical student Raphael Cooper, 26, from Hendon, was one of seven runners who helped raise £27,000 for charity Kisharon, and finished in 3 hours 28 minutes. He said: “It was fantastic, the crowd were phenomenal. I began to find it difficult from the half-way point but I fought through to the finish. Hearing friends and family calling out my name gave me a real boost.”

Kate Skipper, 29, from Finchley, has so far raised almost £2,000 for Parkinson’s UK after completing the marathon in just over four hours. She said: “I’m delighted to have been a part of the Parkinson’s UK team. My Gran has Parkinson’s and thinking about her helped to keep me motivated as the miles went by.”

Former lecturer Professor Colin Francome finsihed in just over six hours after juggling clubs the whole distance to raise money for Amnesty International. The 65-year-old, who stopped along the way to perform a series of shows, said: “I got a tremendous reaction. People were cheering the runners, but when they saw me going along while juggling, there was a bigger cheer.”

Alan Cotterell, 30, from Potters Bar, raised £700 for Epilepsy Action. He said: “I had a few seizures a few years ago and so I chose to run for Epilepsy Action as it’s a charity close to my heart. The course was tough at times, but knowing I was doing it for such a fantastic cause really helped me focus on reaching the finish.”

As many people soldiered round the route in their quickest time, it was brave Hannah Wilkinson who was accompanied Major Phil Packer on one of his 26 miles for 26 charities challenge.

Finchley resident Hannah, 23, who has cerebral palsy, walked the 23rd mile on Monday with the war hero Phil to raise hundreds of pounds for Scope.

She said: “It was excellent. I was so proud when I got to the 24th mile because until a few weeks ago I never knew I could go that far, and I beat my best time by 15 minutes.

“Phil has done remarkably well to cross the line after all the stress he has gone through. I thank him for supporting Scope and he has given me a lot of inspiration.”