Imperial's marathon man prepares to pound the pavements a second time

Head of Materials plans his marathon comeback - News

Wednesday 21 March 2007
By Abigail Smith

Twenty-five years after last sprinting over the finishing line, Imperial's Head of Materials is planning his London marathon comeback.

Along with his brother and long-standing running partner Bob, Professor Bill Lee  has won a place in this year's London Marathon, raising money for the charity Kidney Research UK.

It will be the second time the two have tackled the event, which they last ran in 1982 after becoming inspired while watching the previous year's race on a pub TV. "After the fourth pint it seemed like a good idea," Professor Lee recalls.

To get in shape for his 26 mile ordeal, he is now running daily between the College and Marylebone Station as part of his journey to and from work, as well as taking advantage of the proximity of Hyde Park. Despite these exertions, however, he is not expecting to match his previous time of three hours and 19 minutes, saying "At my age, I'll be happy with anything under four hours."

Running for a second time together was the idea of Bob Lee, now a business consultant and part-time organic and rare breeds farmer in Scotland, who finished the 1983 London race in the slightly quicker time of 2 hours and 48 minutes. "He still runs more than me so I'm expecting to struggle to keep up even if he is 6 years older than me," adds Professor Lee.

The Lee brothers chose to support Kidney Research UK because of their family's history of renal failure. "Our father was on dialysis for ten years before he died and Bob and I are starting to experience kidney problems," Professor Lee says. "Obviously there's a concern for the next generation so we have a vested interest in raising money for this charity."

More information on sponsoring the brothers is available at www.justgiving.com/LeeBros

Professor Lee will be joined in this year's marathon, which takes palce on 22 April, by Imperial PhD student Ben Ryall who is running to support the College's Student Opportunities Fund, which raises funds for scholarships. More information on his progress and details on how to sponsor him are online at www.imperial.ac.uk/NetCommunity