Claire Squires: an amazing testimony to the faith of human spirit

IT'S a testimony to the faith of human spirit and generosity that, at the time of writing, more than £600,000 has been raised for the Samaritans following the death last Sunday of London Marathon runner, Claire Squires.

The scale of generosity has been quite staggering for the 30-year-old hairdresser, who collapsed and died in Birdcage Walk near St James's Park after completing more than 25 miles of this gruelling challenge – she was just a bend away from the finish line in the Mall.

People from all over the world have made donations to her JustGiving page – in fact, 55,000 people have donated to Claire's cause, with the website saying it will waive its fees after a record number of visits to her page on Monday.

I last ran the London Marathon five years' ago on an absolutely blistering hot day in the capital. Temperatures that day peaked at 23.5c, with radiated heat from the road reaching an energy-sapping 27.5c. The race took its toll on the runners. It was carnage over the last 10km with dehydrated and cramping casualties lying on the side of the road wrapped in foil blankets, others retching into the gutters as St John Ambulance dealt with more than 5,000 people.

The race in 2007 also claimed the life of 22-year-old David Rogers, a fitness instructor from Milton Keynes, who collapsed again not far from the finish and later died in hospital. It was later discovered that he had died from drinking too much water – hyponatraemia or water intoxication, when there is so much water in the body that it dilutes vital minerals such as sodium to dangerous levels, leading to confusion, headaches and a fatal swelling of the brain.

For David Rogers and Claire Squires, they were the 10^th and 11^th runners to die after competing in the London Marathon since this showpiece event began in 1981.

The risk of dying on a marathon course is twice as high if you drive it than if you run it, Canadian researchers once found.

Life is a 24 hour risk, whether crossing the road or climbing a mountain. Wouldn't life be so dull and boring if we were constantly wrapped up in cotton wool? God forbid if the moronic and mindless health and safety crowd ever decided to bring a halt to marathons because of the remote risk of fatal injuries.

Following the death of David Rogers in 2007, in fact with any of the previous London Marathon deaths, all of whom were men, there was nothing like the amazing public reaction which has seen Claire Squires' fund-raising efforts spiral to such unbelievable proportions. When she set out from the start line in Greenwich last Sunday morning, her fund-raising for the Samaritans had reached a fairly modest £500.

So the question is, why the sudden interest in Claire Squires? Her death received the same initial media prominence as David's, but it is the level of fund-raising which has turned this snowballing story into a global one. Was it a sudden interest in the work of the Samaritans which pricked people's conscience? Maybe now we have hit a double dip recession, this story touched people's generosity as well as their hearts. Why did Claire Squires strike a philanthropic nerve?

Bluntly, one has to ask whether a key factor was a very pretty and photogenic female, whose smiling face in running kit and athletic poses, shone like a beacon from newspapers and websites to help foster the phenomenal fund-raising momentum. Had it been hairy old me, with the protruding tummy collapsing outside Buckingham Palace, would I have garnered so much support for my charity? Probably not.

Fair play to Claire and the Samaritans. Here was a gutsy young lady who had climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for charity and for whom the Samaritans was a cause close to her heart through her mother's involvement as a volunteer, and following the death of her brother of a drug overdose 10 years ago.

Reading the tributes from her friends, Claire was someone who was loyal and always helped others. I wonder what she makes of what has happened.

The London Marathon is an amazing running race, unlike any other. It is a spiritual experience driven by the fantastic levels of public support along the 26.2 mile route. When you think how greedy the world has become, driven by a grotesque selfishness and frequently a disdain at times for fellow man, the feelgood-frenzied atmosphere from the London Marathon restores your faith in human spirit. 

It is chicken soup for the soul.

Claire was an amazing woman, since taking on the marathon remains a supreme test of body and mind. For Claire, she will have left an amazing legacy from her short life. A legacy perpetuated thanks to the fantastic and unexpected outpouring of public generosity.