I'm sorry I just don't get it.
Why because some woman died doing the Marathon does that make people give shed loads of money to charity?
Is that what it takes these days, more and more people are doing extreme things to get a few quid, but this is taking it a bit far...
Interesting - charity funding linked to population control - you may have the germ of an idea there. One to pass on to Cameroon.
but this is taking it a bit far...
Not far enough IMO.
Not taking anything away from her efforts and the grief for friends and family but it does seem strange to me.
Maybe its because she didn't quite make it to the finish, thats a lot of effort for no result so heres a few quid to your charity for your efforts type thing ?
If she had died after the race would the money of increased so much, I think not.
Plenty of folk do things I don't understand and would never consider...
You only have to look at how charities raise money now to see why this has got people's support.
They all try and tell a story and focus on an individual. Oxfam etc never show a photo of a camp with 30000 people in it and say 'feed this lot' - it's always an individual, named, child and 'feed child x'.
This woman has/is a story and is an individual not just one of 40,000 other runners.
People perceive (rightly or wrongly) that she was doing somethign for others running the marathon and that her death deserves some recognition towards the cause she was running for.
I have no idea what caused her death but, if it were my wife/daughter/etc then I'd be grateful for every penny that went to the charity she supported and not try and question peoples motives too much, tbh.
Its more fitting than the gushing RIP threads on here every time some nomark celeb dies.
Must be bittersweet for the Samaritans. Sad because their fundraiser's brown bread, happy because they've got a shedload of cash.
What on earth is wrong with rip threads?
See also, a national outpouring of grief after a millionaire has a heart attack while playing a game of football. Hundreds of people have heart attacks every day and yet the vast majority aren't lucky enough to have a large team of professional medical staff immediately to hand to save their lives. I don't see much national mourning for them.
People need an reason to be charitable. Sponsoring a "struggle" to highlight a good cause is a good excuse to be charitable.
For the person being sponsored, the physical struggle is a catharsis and sponsorship provides added motivation. That's why friends and family are the keenest sponsors: they are helping the person through their emotional struggle.
I'm pretty cynical about the media role in this, people die every year doing the LM this year it happens to have been. a photogenic young lady, and suddenly the media are reporting on it. RIP.
Egg-sellent link dobbo. Some people need to get ova themselves.
Not me though, I have a hard shell.
Imagine how much money would have been raised if the runner had been from Liverpool and wearing a chicken suit ! There's your million pound idea.
What worries me is the precedent it now sets. Will we be seeing charities actively cajoling people with dodgy tickers to do sponsored tandem free fall parachute jumps?
Actually... you can tell Steve Hilton and his blue sky thinking have left Downing Street. Otherwise I'm sure CMD would have had a press release out hailing this as the Big Society in action
Apparently, the British Heart Foundation are currently trying to talk Fabrice Muamba into doing a sponsored BASE jump.
Just googled and the last person to die was 2007, a 22 year old man.
I do remember it being in the press at the time, but I don't remember his charity getting as much cash. Having said that, its a fair point he wasn't as attractive as this years.
Maybe when they have finished the post mortem and they find that she has a rare heart condition etc, I'm sure the coughers of British Heart Foundation etc will increase no?
It seems pretty understandable to me.
You've got 35,000 people running. Most of them have friends, family, love ones etc. It doesn't take too many of them to think 'there by the grace of god*' it could have been my son, daughter, wife husband etc. People empathise and want a way to express it.
*Or 'there by the grace of the proton pump' for the militants 
people die every year doing the LM
The overall mortality rate from the 20 years is one in 67,414, or roughly one death for every two million miles run:
be interesting to know what the mortality rate for the same number of hours lived of non-marathon runners might be?
I have no idea what caused her death but, if it were my wife/daughter/etc then I'd be grateful for every penny that went to the charity she supported and not try and question peoples motives too much
This & a bit of empathy to show that there is something positive to come out of her loss perhaps.
This & a bit of empathy to show that there is something positive to come out of her loss perhaps
^this
* I can't believe some comments on here, what's wrong with donating a fiver or whatever in her memory?
I heard somewhere that somebody dies most days at Heathrow airport. Get enough people in one place at a time and the math predicts that one will keel over and die. Yet another marketing opportunity missed. Of course, they are usually middle aged fat blokes, but nothing a crack on-call team of morticians on standby in the First Class lounge couldn't work into a PR coup.
"I can't believe some comments on here, what's wrong with donating a fiver or whatever in her memory?"
My Gran died 2 years ago of a stroke, your welcome to donate a fiver to the stroke association if you want in her memory. I'd be chuffed if you did
Oh then theres my Mother who had a heart attack a few years back, (she's not dead yet though), again The British Heart Foundation would welcome a donation, or do I need to tell you when she eventually dies?
Hels, you should be on the Apprentice.
I'm normally pretty cynical but I really can't see the issue here. 
Oh then theres my Mother who had a heart attack a few years back, (she's not dead yet though)
see my earlier post re: a compelling story.
Was your mum trying to rescue some ostriches from a car as it rolled in a ball of flame down a remote mountainside? That'd be worth a tenner of anyones money.
Some people need to get ova themselves.
Not me though, I have a hard shell.
Don't be so clucking heartless
i think that folk see it as brave that the young lady died trying to raise money to help others.
she died helping a good cause didn't she?
i dont see a problem with wanting to donate to a cause that someone died trying to help.
and i reckon anyone who does is a bit of a toss pot to be honest.
I'm generally a bit of a dick but I can't see an issue with this one.
I think ton has probably nailed it.
"i think that folk see it as brave that the young lady died trying to raise money to help others. she died helping a good cause didn't she?"
Ok I could be cynical here, but did she wake up one morning thinking I want to raise money, and therefore will run the LM, or did she think, ah I fancy runnning the LM, but to do that I need to raise money for charity? She wasn't brave, just unfortunate.
"i dont see a problem with wanting to donate to a cause that someone died trying to help."
Neither do I, but I wish people would put a bit more thought in to it and support charities that matter to them, or would choose to sponsor a charity normally.
It shouldnt take some one to die, the media to make a big point of it for people to feel they need to make a donation. Its a sad state of affairs, and I blame Diana PoW for dying for kicking off the stupid national sheep heardism.
but did she wake up one morning thinking I want to raise money
Probably, her brother took his own life with an overdose and she felt that she wanted to raise money for Samaritans to help others who might be in the same situation he found himself in and give them an alternative.
Still, you carry on casting aspersions, eh.
Don't be so clucking heartless
OMG Al, you are so right. I'm AMAZING. I'll get booked in for a charisma-ectomy immediately.
I'm sure the interview process will stamp all over any remaining self-respect before they roll cameras.
"Still, you carry on casting aspersions, eh."
No your right, I haven't read the Daily Mail all weekend sorry.
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