In the wake of Matt Campbell’s death, donations on his London Marathon JustGiving page have now reached over £100k.
The chef, who appeared in the 2017 series of ‘Masterchef: The Professionals’, died in hospital after collapsing at the 22.5 mile mark of Sunday’s (22 April) race.
Matt was running the marathon in memory of his father, Martin, and raising money for Brathay Trust - a charity his dad supported for 8 years.
When the sad news of Matt’s death was announced, people began flocking to his JustGiving page and donating money in his memory and as of Tuesday (24 April) lunchtime, the total was £100,340.
Many of the people donating money have also shared tributes to the chef. One reads: “I watched Matt on ‘Masterchef’ with my dad and was in awe of him willing him to win.
“His story was so poignant. I have since lost my own dad and was so upset to hear the news. Thinking of his family.”
“Devastating news to hear of Matt’s untimely death during the London Marathon,” another person wrote. “Having watched him on the Masterchef programs and learnt of his life and passions it seems unbelievable he is gone.”
More than 1,000 of the people who participated in the marathon have also pledged to run 3.7 miles this Sunday, in tribute to Matt.
A #FinishForMatt Facebook group has been set up and Matt Dorber, the 33-year-old runner behind it, is calling for those taking part to donate £5 to the chef’s JustGiving page too.
Speaking on Tuesday (24 April) morning, he told HuffPost UK: “When I saw the news, it hit everyone in the group hard because it could have been literally any one of us, particularly in that heat.
“We’d all trained so hard and had all these fears over the last few months of injuries and not finishing, and even going round the race you felt a real group spirit, stopping to help others, sharing water, gels, giving each other encouragement.”
Matt was a keen runner, who completed the Manchester Marathon in 2 hours 56 minutes earlier this month.
Writing on Instagram after that race, he said: “Running has been amazing for me over the past 2 years, considering I only ran my first marathon 20 months ago, it’s helped me through grief, helped me de-stress, helped me process information after a long day and helped me menu plan.
“To anybody considering even entering a 5K this year I say go for it. Life happens outdoors.”
Donate to Matt’s JustGiving page here.