A group of at least 50 Bermuda road runners will be competing in the New York Marathon early next month, many of them aiming to complete the 26.2 mile trek through the Big Apple's five boroughs in aid of charity.

The race gets underway as usual from the Verrazano Bridge on the morning of November 2 when Martin O'Regan, Michael Downey and Shane Coman will all be running to raise funds for L'Arche, which was initially formed in Canada but now has centres worldwide. L'Arche provides homes and work for those with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Shane's brother lives in a L'Arche community in Ireland.

Nicolette Gardiner is running to raise funds for Hamilton Lions Club of which she is the current secretary while Gary Wilson is running for the Round Table Charity fund. He is currently president of the Hamilton Round Table.

Tonya Howard and Janet Wheelan are running for TB Cancer & Health, Susan Gatje to raise funds for the US and Bermuda Heart Associations and former top squash player Julian Rose for TB Cancer & Health.

Gerard Fitzpatrick will be on the New York start line aiming to raise cash for Oxfam as well as the Bermuda Audubon Society, a charity supported by the late Alan Edness.

Edness was tragically lost at sea earlier this year and Fitzpatrick wants to dedicate the marathon in his late friend's memory. As a Bank of Bermuda employee, he hopes to generate support from his work colleagues in the form of donations.

As an added incentive for his colleagues to make a donation, the Bank of Bermuda Foundation will match all funds raised by Bank of Bermuda staff and their immediate families.