Marathon runner donations top £595,000

Claire Squires, 30, fell to the ground at Birdcage Walk on the final stretch of the 26.2mile course during the race on Sunday afternoon.

Paramedics treated her at the scene and took her to hospital but were unable to save her.

Friends and well-wishers have flooded her JustGiving donations page offering thousands of pounds to the charity, the Samaritans, after her name was released. She chose to support the charity because her mother has volunteered with them for more than 20 years.

It has been reported that her older brother, Grant, died in 2001 aged 25 of an overdose when Ms Squires was just 20.

Before setting off, Ms Squires, a hairdresser, had written: “I’m running the London Marathon for Samaritans because they continuously support others.”

By early afternoon, the total raised so far was at more than £595,000 including donations directly to the charity, with the sum raising by hundreds of pounds per minute at several points.

The charity said that donations would go into a tribute fund.

More than 52,000 individual donations had been made by 6pm on Thursday.

Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the Samaritans, said the charity had been “overwhelmed” by the response following the death of Ms Squires, from North Kilworth, Leicestershire.

“Claire chose to run the marathon for Samaritans as her mother, Cilla Squires, has been a volunteer for the charity for 24 years,” she said.

“This is an incredibly sad time for Claire’s family and all those who knew her.

“We desperately wish it that it was not under these circumstances, but we have been overwhelmed by the response from people donating in Claire’s memory.

“These donations will go into a tribute fund and, following discussions with the family, will go towards projects they feel would have been important to Claire.”

The event was the second time that Ms Squires had completed a challenge for charity. Last year, she and a friend climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the RAF Association and raised £1,500.

Tests to establish the cause of her death are expected to take place in the coming days.