Why We Ran: What the London Landmarks Half Marathon Says About the LSBUD Team
David Gerrard
Marketing Content Creator
At LSBUD, we spend our days helping the United Kingdom plan, dig and build safely, encouraged by our free safe digging portal. Recently, a group of our team took on a very different kind of challenge, lining up together at the London Landmarks Half Marathon in support of Prostate Cancer UK.
What started as a fundraising goal and challenge became something much bigger. It turned into a shared journey that reflected the culture we’re building as a business: one centred on teamwork, perseverance, dedication, wellbeing and genuine support for one another.
A team at very different starting points
One of the most powerful aspects of this challenge was that no two people came to it the same way.
Some of us had never run further than a 5k. Others started training unable to jog for more than a few minutes without stopping. A few were completely new to running, encouraged by teammates, family members, and the collective momentum of the group. Others brought more experience, using the event as part of a wider season of races.
What united everyone was the willingness to step outside their comfort zone.
Training began months before race day. For many, it meant early mornings, evenings swapped for running, wet weather sessions that would previously have been avoided, and learning how to fuel, recover and look after their bodies properly. Strava became a place of encouragement, team runs became social, and “running talk” even made its way into the office, something that would never have happened before!
Within the team, we saw people challenge themselves, give up unhealthy habits, improve their fitness and confidence, and feel the benefits both physically and mentally.
Race day: together in every sense
On the day itself, the scale of the event truly hit home. Over 21,000 runners filled the streets, iconic landmarks lined the route, and live bands, choirs and music created an incredible backdrop through the City of Westminster and the City of London.
The atmosphere was electric, but what mattered most was that the immense journey some of us had been on to get even to the start line, about to complete a chapter of our fitness journeys that we will never forget. Teammates all started at different waves but occasionally saw each other whilst running around the 13.1 mile course, familiar faces appeared now and again in the crowds of spectators, and colleagues who couldn’t take part due to injury still turned up to cheer from the sidelines.
For some, the challenge came early. For others, it arrived in the final miles, when legs were tired, plans unravelled, watches proved unreliable due to the cityscape, and determination mattered more than pace. But everyone crossed the line knowing they had given everything they had.
Why this cause mattered to us
Choosing Prostate Cancer UK was never a tick box exercise. The cause is close to home for LSBUD, with someone in our wider team currently living with the disease. That reality brought a very real sense of perspective throughout training and on race day itself.
With around 12,000 men losing their lives to prostate cancer each year in the UK, the motivation extended far beyond personal goals or finishing times. On the toughest runs and hardest moments of the race, that perspective helped put everything into context.
Thanks to the generosity of colleagues, friends, family and professional networks, including donations that continued to come in during the weeks after the race, the team went on to raise £3,272, achieving 155% of our original fundraising target.
What this says about LSBUD
This wasn’t just about running a half marathon. It was about who we are as a business.
We saw collaboration without hierarchy, encouragement without expectation, and people stepping up for one another. We saw resilience built over time rather than overnight. And we saw that when people feel genuinely supported, they are capable of far more than they ever imagined.
We’re incredibly proud of everyone who took part, everyone who trained alongside them, and everyone who supported from the sidelines. Challenges like this don’t just raise money for important causes, they reinforce the values we stand for as a team and as individuals.
If we carry that same mindset, of shared effort, commitment and support, into everything we do at LSBUD, then the miles were more than worth it.
You can head over to Fisher German’s website to read more about our journeys.
