Steven van Groningen, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Romania, and his Olympic Gold medalist wife, Valeria, ran in the London Marathon to raise funds for a new hospice being built in their home city, Bucharest by Hospices of Hope.Steven and Valeria met each other at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Steven was rowing for Holland and Valeria won a gold medal in the single sculls. A romance developed and they were soon married.
They are now very involved in developing sport in Romania. Valeria is the race director for the Bucharest International Marathon and Steven has started a public cycling scheme. Both remain very fit and continue to compete in marathons as often as they can. However this the first time that Steven is running the London Marathon.
Steven said: “I’ve run many marathons before but I am really excited to be running the London Marathon for Hospices of Hope, a charity of which I am an Honorary Patron. It’s a cause I believe in very much and seeing at first hand the problems faced by terminally ill patients in Romania, this is a way I can make a difference and draw attention to a very important cause. We have raised 70% of the funds needed so far, but we still need to raise a further 1.6 million euros before we can open the doors.”
Hospices of Hope chairman,Graham Perolls, said: “Steven and Valeria have been a wonderful support to our hospice projects in Romania over many years. They are both extremely busy people, yet they always find the time to think of others and do what they can to help those in need. Terminally ill patients in Bucharest who cannot afford private care simply have nowhere to turn and often suffer terribly, so for them the new hospicce cannot come soon enough.”
Also running for Hospices of Hope was Ross Wood, or Bagpuss, as spectators and fellow runners knew him. Ross dressed up as the popular British children’s TV character in a 7ft high costume and ran the marathon in 5 hours and 58 minutes.
Visit the Hospices of Hope website to find out more about joining team Bagpuss to raise funds to help open the Hospices of Hope children’s wing in Romania.
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