Amazing Southport dads complete London marathon in memory of daughters killed in knife attack

Two dads who lost their daughters in the horrific Southport attack both heroically today.

They ran with the head teacher of one of the girl's schools, who said: "The Southport community are wrapping their arms around us. I can feel it." David Stancombe ran in memory of seven-year-old Elsie Dot. Sergio Aguiar ran for nine-year-old Alice.

After they finished they emotionally embraced their wives while still wearing their medals. They both raced in the searing heat to raise money for projects set up in their daughters' memory after they were killed at a themed dance day last year.

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David’s wife Jenni revealed today that and Kate donated to their cause and had sent the family a "special message" before the race. Jinnie Payne, the head of Churchtown Primary, where Alice and another victim Bebe King attended, said: "I am feeling absolutely amazing because the crowds are unbelievable. Thank you so much. This whole event is fantastic.

"This is the most important thing for Alice, Bebe and Elsie and that is my stride. I just go one, two, three.” Six-year-old Bebe's parents, Lauren and Ben King, were also in London cheering on from the sideline. Jennie also said that William and Catherine made a donation to the Churchtown Playground fund.

She said the school was "deeply touched and encouraged by William's and Kate's support". Before the race Prime Minister Sir sent a personal message of good luck to the two dads. Sergio said it was "good" to have received a message from the PM and told him: “We want to say thank you for all the support.”

David added: "Even now it still blows me away that so many people know about it and you're getting messages from the prime minister. I would love people to know I've seen their message, but I have genuinely read so many of them. It's amazing.”

Sir Keir said: "David and Sergio, I want to wish you the very best of luck in the London Marathon. I know how much it means to you and your families. This is an incredible way to honour the memory of your precious daughters and the entire nation is in awe of your courage and your resilience. We'll all be with you every single step of the way. Good luck."

It was a record-breaking marathon day. With both the London and marathons taking place on the same day - yesterday was the largest day of marathon running in UK history. The London Marathon organisers confirmed yesterday’s race had a record number of starters.

There were over 56,000 in the capital and 36,000 in Manchester. Among the astonishing stories of the day was Olivia Tsim who secured second place in her first ever marathon and was reunited with her seven month old baby Alexis on the podium.

Lindsey Burrow led some of the famous names taking part in London. She said husband Rob, the rugby league legend who died last year, was with her “throughout”. There were many celebrities and former sports stars taking part.

Former England and Chelsea captain John Terry struggled. He was pictured with a bloodied nipple and walking part of the way while being cheered on by the crowd. He said: “That was the toughest thing I’ve done. Yeah, really tough. Both mentally and physically.

“This feels chalk and cheese to how you feel after a football match. Can’t compare that.” Seven-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Jason Kenny said: “It was absolutely amazing. Running with all of these amazing people who are mainly running for other people or causes is emotional.

"In the last couple of kilometres, my legs started to fall off and there were just bodies everywhere, but everyone was just pushing each other through. I'm running for my mate Chris Hoy and supporting his fundraising so all the emotion bubbles up in the last few kilometres. It was brutal but amazing."

Among the other stars who ran were Sir Andrew Strauss and Sir Alastair Cook - former England captains. TV and radio presenters Chris Evans, Jenni Falconer, Joel Dommett, Joe Wicks, Roberts, Craig Doyle and Marcus Bean.

actor Adam Woodyatt was with his real son and his screen son Thomas Law. Others included model and radio host , Line of Duty’s Craig Parkinson, singer Alexandra Burke, Rivals actress Kelly McGrillis, Outlanders’ Sam Heughan, actor Stephen Mangan, 's Tony Audenshaw, Shetland actor Jack Greenlees and Jesy Nelson’s boyfriend Zion Foster. Gogglebox’s Baasit Siddiqui and Stephen Webb, Jake Quickenden, Joe Sugg, Made in Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews and Ollie Proudlock, Suzanne Shaw, Ramesh Ranganathan, Harry Judd and .

Flora Turnbull, the daughter of Breakfast presenter Bill, ran. Bill died of prostate cancer in 2022 and Flora has continued to raise money and awareness about the disease since.

Fiona said: “After his death, we as a family were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and thanks from people across the nation, and particularly those men who were inspired to learn more about their own prostate cancer risk and speak to their GP. But there is still work to be done. That’s why I signed up to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

"I want to ensure that everyone can keep their dads, partners, brothers, sons, grandads, uncles, and friends around as long as possible.” David Prescott, the son of the late Labour MP John Prescott, ran to raise money for dementia research in memory of his father. The former deputy prime minister died at the age of 86 in November 2024 after living with Alzheimer's disease for a number of years.

David said: It's the biggest killer of people in the UK. For every one dementia researcher there's four researchers looking into cancer research. So there's a big inequality in terms of funding and in terms of mindset."

The race was briefly disrupted by activists from UK Youth Demand on Tower Bridge. They threw bright pink powder across the road as the elite runners crossed the River Thames. Pictures taken at the scene show the two protestors being tackled by stewards, before they were led away from the course.