The Herts MS Therapy Centre team for next year’s London Marathon has been confirmed. Evarine Botha, Alexandra Ridge, Karline Botha, Altus Basson and Katie Woolf will be running and raising money for us on Sunday April 27.
London girl Katie Woolf, who has lived in Highams Park, E4 for all her life was recently confirmed as the final member of the team.
Katie, 53, will be running round the capital for the second time next April. Known to her friends as Woolfie, Katie, an IT risk analyst for a reinsurance company, first ran the London marathon in 2023.
“I’ve also run the Brighton and Manchester marathons but the London one is the best and really special. It’s like a 26 mile street party! The support from the massive crowds is absolutely brilliant.”
Evarine Botha has learnt to love running over the past few years. The 45-year-old teacher from Chingford has competed in several marathons including three in London.
Originally from Harrismith, a small town between Johannesburg and Durban in Free State Province, South Africa, Evarine not only runs for her local club Orion Harriers but has run marathons in Paris, Florence, Venice, Athens, Valencia, Nice and Berlin.
“Paris was my first marathon and I loved the city. Venice was brutal, not helped by a huge flood and the beautiful coastal scenery between Nice and Cannes was stunning.”
Keen athlete Alexandra Westley is easy to spot when she’s out running. That’s because she will often be accompanied by her Dalmatian dog Hunter.
Alexandra, a science teacher and outdoor instructor, lives in Waltham Abbey and is originally from Pembrokeshire in Wales and loves running and hiking in Snowdonia.
“My favourite event so far is the Snowdon SkyRace, a 40km trail/mountain race in Caernarfon. It involves a fair amount of scrambling at more than 3,000 metres! I love it and aim to do more of these events in the future.”
Karline Botha will be stepping into the unknown when she takes part in next year’s London Marathon.
The former teacher’s family moved from Edinburgh to South Africa in the 1960s. Karline was raised on a farm near Johannesburg and later moved to Port Elizabeth with her husband Braam. Karline, 45, and her family moved back here ten years ago and now live in Bexhill in East Sussex.
“I was a teacher for 25 years and recently entered into full-time ministry as the family worker of Beulah Baptist Church. It is an amazing and rewarding vocation as I get to spend a lot of time in our local community working with families and young people trying to make a difference in their lives.”
Altus Basson enjoyed his first London Marathon in 2023 so much he was pleased to sign up to run and raise money for the Herts MS Therapy Centre in 2025.
Altus, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, and now living in Chingford, has fond memories of the event: “I knew the London Marathon was big, but it surpassed my expectations. The event was so well organised and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing.
“No matter how you try and prepare for it the amount of spectators en route comes as a shock. I usually run wearing headphones, but not this time. Just thinking back gives me goosebumps!”
Good luck Team HMSTC – we appreciate your support.