London Marathon costume fundraising hero running his 21st and final race
Lloyd Scott has run up £11million for charity while entertaining London Marathon crowds in costumes ranging from Brian the Snail to a deep-sea diver.
But the 61-year-old faces the final finish line in what will be his 21st and last race this Sunday – 37 years after his first in 1985.
In his 20 marathons, the dad-of-three has crawled, trudged, walked and ran the 26.2 miles as characters including Indiana Jones, complete with a giant boulder “chasing” him, St George with a huge dragon and even in a full firefighting kit from his days in the service.
And as Brian the Snail from The Magic Roundabout he crawled on his hands and knees over broken glass and other debris. But Lloyd has always known what he was in for and never complains.
Lloyd at the London Marathon finishing line in 2002 (PA)The Pride of Britain winner, awarded an MBE in 2005 for his fundraising, said: “It’s my idea, I want to do it, so I get on with it.
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“You don’t go to the Himalayas and complain that it’s hilly. You don’t go to Antarctica and moan it’s cold. You don’t wear a deep-sea diving suit and complain that it’s heavy.”
It took Lloyd five days, eight hours and 29 minutes to complete the course in the 130lb diving suit in 2002. The rules were changed to insist competitors finish the course on race day.
Lloyd taking part in the Marathon while wearing deep-sea diver's gear (Getty Images Sport)
Lloyd as St George in 2006 (PA)As Brian the Snail in 2011, Lloyd could only crawl a mile a day. It took him 27 days to finish and he was denied a medal under the new rule.
After several brushes with death and a rare form of cancer, he will now run his last marathon dressed as his childhood superhero, Captain Scarlet. Lloyd has had 28 operations, including a bone marrow transplant for myeloid leukaemia in 1989.
He has also had heart trouble, a fractured neck and a new hip and knee. And he was diagnosed with a synovial sarcoma in his mouth in April 2021. Radiotherapy got rid of it but last summer it reappeared behind his right jaw.
Lloyd with his Brian the snail costume in 2011 (Facundo Arrizabalaga/REX/Shutterstock)Lloyd had a 13-hour operation to remove it.
He said: “That was the first time I really thought about death. I had faith in my surgeons. There’s a sense of helplessness, though. I did think, ‘This could well be it.’”
Speaking of dressing as Captain Scarlet, who was indestructible, he added: “I’m more reconstructable than indestructible now. The thought of helping people who have been in the same situation as me, there’s no stronger motivation.”
Lloyd has kept some costumes and is looking forward to using them at fancy dress parties. But he said: “I probably wouldn’t turn up in the diving suit, it’s a bit tricky to drink in.”
* Lloyd is running for Sarcoma UK. You can help out at donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/scarlet
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