Pink Lady runners London Marathon

Pink Lady runners Matt Ward, David Mitchell, James Stevens and Jo Hurl

The popularity of Pink Lady apples was very much evident on Sunday at the London Marathon, with thousands of pieces of the fruit given away at the pre-race Pasta Party as well as in gift bags given to runners as they crossed the finish line.

Pink Lady was the official apple of the London Marathon, and boasted four runners in the event dressed in apple costumes, raising money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

One of these runners, Matt Ward, completed the course in the fastest time ever for a Pink Lady participant at three hours 49 minutes.

'This is the seventh year that Pink Lady has sponsored the London Marathon and has simultaneously raised funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity as a result,' said Andy Macdonald, managing director of Coregeo, the master Licensor of Pink Lady apples in the UK.

'We are extremely grateful to all the runners for showing such dedication and completing what can only be described as an incredibly tough challenge with such good spirits,' he noted. 'In the seven years of our involvement we can boast that all Pink Lady apple runners have finished this gruelling course. Our congratulations go to everyone who completed the race yesterday, and to our four apple runners, but particularly to Matt Ward who now holds the title of Fastest Pink Lady Apple To Complete A Marathon!'