Marathon effort from tech guru Tori raises vital funds for disabled people

Leonard Cheshire’s Tori Kinniburgh and her best friend Tia raised more than £4,500 for the disability charity after completing the London Marathon. Tori from Leicester and Tia from Oakham, Rutland, raised crucial funds for disabled adults helped by the charity’s Assistive Technology programme - with an extra £100 incentive from a proud grandparent helping spur Tori on. 

Tori, who joined Leonard Cheshire in 2021 in the role of Service Manager, now works as IT Applications Lead. Tori works closely with people in residential and supported living services across the organisation, implementing crucial digital systems such as Access Care and Clinical. She has first‑hand insight into how technology can improve care, communication and independence for disabled people, inspiring her to run in support of Leonard Cheshire. 

Tori a caucasian female with brown hair braids hugging Tia a blond caucasian female in a field surrounded by crowds of people

“I see every day how the right technology can change lives,” Tori said. “Assistive Technology gives people more choice, more independence and more control, and that’s what pushed me to take on something I’d never done before.” 

Leonard Cheshire’s Assistive Technology programme brings life-changing technology to the people the charity supports, as well as empowering colleagues in Leonard Cheshire services to integrate the technology into everyday life. With hubs in central and northern England, the programme relies on generous donors and fundraising, as local authority social care funding often doesn’t cover the enhanced provision of the tech. As sector leaders in Assistive Technology, the charity aims to expand the programme to cover the south of England with two new hubs. 

Although this was her first marathon, Tori spent two years building up her running. She moved from parkruns and 10K races to half marathons and long training runs, including a demanding 20‑mile race just weeks before London. Ahead of race day, Tori’s grandad provided extra motivation, pledging an additional £100 if she completed the marathon in under six hours. 

Race day itself proved both exhilarating and punishing: “It was amazing – really, really good – but also really hard work,” said Tori. Tia added “I got to 10K and thought, ‘how is it only 10K?’ And the heat was something else. London just trapped it.”

Tori and Tia two caucasian females with their arms around each other holding up their marathon medals

The pair were carried along by the atmosphere and the kindness of supporters. 
“The firefighters were absolutely amazing,” Tia said. “They had hoses out so you could run through showers of water. And the people just cheering everyone on. They had chopped up fresh orange, and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted in my life.” 

On the day, Tori felt the support from the sidelines from Leonard Cheshire colleagues like Adrienne, who works in a Leonard Cheshire service in Scotland. Tori and Adrienne kept in touch during training and found each other during the marathon: “I ran at least 10 miles with her. I didn’t expect to see her. So when she appeared behind me, that was really helpful and kept me going”

After months of training and the intensity of race day, both Tori and Tia were already looking ahead to recovery. The pair had booked a spa day to wind down and recover together. Speaking shortly after the marathon, Tori said: “I saw a recovery guide by someone who runs it regularly. It said ‘Number 1: Drink lots. Number 2: Chocolate. Number 3: Have a bath with Epsom salts. Number 4: Chocolate’. And it carried on like that, and I thought ‘That is a recovery plan I can get on board with!’  

Although Tori narrowly missed the six‑hour mark in her official time, her effort still earned her grandad’s extra donation: “I finished just over six hours, but my granddad still paid up anyway,” she said. “If you accept Strava, I was under 6 hours!” 

Tori and Tia in a field in front of a big grey backdrop with the TCS logo on and the words 'finisher' in blue on one side and red on the other side

Together, Tori and Tia raised over £4,500, far exceeding their original fundraising target. In a social media post, Tori said: “I am so pleased I was able to do this supporting our fantastic charity – knowing my running would help disabled people kept me motivated when it was super tough!” 

Leonard Cheshire had a total of 55 supporters running the London Marathon this year, who raised a grand total of around £110,000 before including Gift Aid. These runners are supporting Leonard Cheshire’s services and programmes nationwide,  and the amount raised will make a huge difference to disabled people’s lives. £25,000 could provide 50 disabled people with essential specialised assistive technology equipment, and personalised digital training to get online, enabling communication and access to information. The total raised could support over 200 people. 

Aime Ryan-Farren, Events Manager for Leonard Cheshire, said “From everyone at Leonard Cheshire, thank you to everyone who ran for us for their remarkable effort in support of disabled people and the Assistive Technology programme."

Media enquiries 

For more info contact Isaac Corrick via isaac.corrick@leonardcheshire.org. Out of hours: 07903 949 388.