Women in Sport, a UK-based advocacy group that aims to increase girls’ and women’s access to sport and challenge gender inequalities, arranges a charity running team for the London Marathon as a part of its fundraising efforts. WiS was founded in 1984 by 30 women across the sports industry. They use research to expose the barriers that hold women and girls back and ensure no woman or girl is excluded from the joy, fulfillment and lifelong benefits of sport.
This year, that team raised funds and awareness to bring sports and recreation to more women and girls.
The team at WiS gave Athletic Business an inside look at what it takes to create this game-changing team and the difference the runners have made to WiS’s charity work.
1. Congratulations to your team on a successful day at the 2026 London Marathon. What can you share about the runners who participated on the WiS charity team?
We were incredibly proud to see our Women in Sport charity team take on the 2026 London Marathon, each runner bringing a deeply personal motivation to the start line and a shared commitment to helping more women and girls experience the lifelong benefits of sport. The team included Georgie, who ran in memory of a friend, Helen, who returned from injury to participate, Siya, who ran with a focus on breaking down barriers for women in sport, Julieta, who works in football, Izzy, who has been a life-long athlete, and partners Charlie and Beanie, who are dedicated women’s rugby players.
Congratulations to each of our runners – we are deeply grateful for all their support.
2. What kinds of initiatives will be funded by the London Marathon charity runners' efforts?
The funds raised by our London Marathon runners go straight to the heart of what we do at Women in Sport, helping us to create change and greater equality so that all women and girls can experience the joy and life-long benefits of sport.
We do this through our insight-led research, through which we understand the wider lives of women and girls and their experiences of sport to give us a clear picture of what needs to shift if sport is going to work for them, not against them.
We then use that evidence to drive our influencing and advocacy work. We take it into the spaces where decisions are made from national governing bodies of sport to government, schools and leisure providers and push for deeper understanding and decisions that are going to benefit women and girls. It’s about making sure women and girls are not an afterthought, but central to how sport is designed and delivered.
Women in Sport exists to change the system and money raised through events like the London Marathon enables us to keep pushing for that long-term change so that sport truly works for every woman and girl.
3. What does WiS hope stakeholders in growing women's sports learn from this fundraising effort and the organization's other advocacy work?
We want everyone to understand that progress for women’s sport is not just about visibility or moments of success. It’s about the everyday experience of girls and women - whether they feel they belong, whether they stay in sport, and whether the environment supports them across their lives.
This really matters because the wider picture is urgent. NHS data shows that by age 17–19, nearly one in four young women (around 24%) are experiencing a probable mental health disorder and rates are significantly higher than for young men in the same age group. This reflects a generation of girls under intense pressure, at exactly the moment many are leaving sport behind.
And the impact continues across life. Women are around three times more likely than men to develop osteoporosis, which is often linked to low levels of physical activity and strength building. This is not – and should not be - inevitable for post-menopausal women.
This is why our work matters. Sport is not a ‘nice to have’ but a powerful antidote for both mental and physical health but also gives girls skills like communication, teamwork and the ability to overcome failure – all skills pivotal to life.
4. Looking ahead, how is WiS planning to continue this momentum for the rest of 2026?
This year we launched a ground-breaking report drawing on the experiences of more than 2,000 coaches. Reimagining Sport Coaching: Designing a System That Works for Women found that twice as many women coaches than men are bullied (30% v 15%) and that the system is routinely pushing women out. We are working to turn this insight into actionable solutions - working with sports to create environments that better support women and ultimately improve the culture for everyone.
We are also calling for more girls-only sport. Our recent research found just 1 in 6 opportunities are for girls only – which is important to provide physically and emotionally safe spaces for girls to feel the joy and freedom of sport on their own terms.
Alongside this, we are scaling Big Sister, our girl-designed programme helping teenage girls stay active through puberty. Over a 10 month, pilot 3,000 girls visited their local leisure centre with significant increases in confidence, resilience and happiness.
Looking ahead, we will continue to build the evidence base through new research, including Wiser Life, focused on women post-retirement age and our work on South Asian women and girls, deepening understanding of different communities and their attitudes and opportunities to sport within the UK. We are also strengthening our insight into men and boys because changing the system means shifting culture as well as opportunity.
5. Anything else you would like to share?
None of this work is possible without the commitment and passion of our supporters.
Every person who chooses to fundraise, take on a challenge or run for us is helping to drive real change, not just raising vital funds, but standing up for a future where sport truly works for women and girls.
We would love to see more people join us. Whether it’s taking on a personal challenge, signing up to an event like the London Marathon, or finding your own way to get involved - every action helps build the momentum we need. If you want to be part of it, there are lots of ways to get involved with Women in Sport and every contribution plays a role in helping us create a sporting world where no woman or girl is left behind. Take Action - Women in Sport Charity
