Breast Cancer Care and the Prostate Cancer Charity have been named as the official charities for the 2012 Virgin London Marathon, the first time two charities have been selected for the lucrative top spot.
The charities have formed a new partnership that will see the funds raised by the world's largest fundraising event pay for a new service for people affected by breast or prostate cancer.
The partnership was formed specifically for the marathon bid, advised Nicky Scott, press and PR manager at Breast Cancer Care, who added: "Like many charities, we had applied every year but to no avail. It made sense for us to partner with Prostate - breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women, prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men."
The partnership could be extended to other services, she added. "We'll review it on a case-by-case basis but it seems to be a winning formula for funding."
Plans for the new service are "in their infancy", said Scott, but it will promote physical activity to help prevent the re-occurance of breast and prostate cancer. The charities will be identifying gaps in service provision over the coming months.
The charities hope to gather 900 runners raising sponsorship. To help reach this target they are offering a support programme to include celebrity mentors and a series of incentives which will be announced in due course.
As official charities, the London Marathon will provide 250 guaranteed Gold Bond places, top billing on the ballot website and support from the Virgin London Marathon and Virgin Money Giving teams to Breast Cancer Care and the Prostate Cancer Charity.
Clic Sargent was the official charity last year. Kirsty McLatchie, running events manager at the charity, said: “We were delighted to be the official charity for the 2010 Virgin London Marathon.
"We had a team of 700 runners who took part on the day and raised more than £2m which was a fantastic way to celebrate being the official charity!"
This year's London Marathon takes place on Sunday with Oxfam as its official charity. Over 500 runners will officially support Oxfam at the event, attempting to collaboratively raise £1m.
