Martin Pampel, of Woodford Green, posted an impressive London Marathon time of three hours 38 minutes

London Marathon - Profoundly deaf Woodford Green runner smashes his 2011 time

Alistair Kleebauer, Senior reporter Tuesday, April 24, 2012
5:05 PM

A profoundly deaf runner from Woodford Green knocked more than an hour off his time in last year’s London Marathon.

Martin Pampel, 28, of Lambs Meadow, took part in his second race on Sunday to help other deaf people by raising funds for charity Action On Hearing Loss.

Cheers from the crowd pushed Martin, who benefits from a cochlear implant to improve his hearing, to a finish of three hours 38 minutes.

He said: “It is always great to hear the words ‘come on Martin’ from complete strangers in the street.”

Martin was born profoundly deaf and used hearing aids until he was 17 when a sudden illness meant he lost “the little hearing that remained”.

He opted for the implant aged 18 which has made his hearing better than ever but said Action on Hearing Loss provided support in the “difficult and distressing time” after losing his remaining hearing.

He said: “I don’t think being deaf has an effect on my running but I have the choice of hearing or silence, just by switching off my cochlear implant.

“If I wanted to really concentrate, I could simply switch it off and carry on.

“I was still able to lip read many members of the crowds calling my name.”

He joked that he would struggle to better this year’s time without performance-enhancing drugs or the use of wheels, but is keen to run it again.

He has raised £1,600 so far and donations can be made on his Virgin Money Giving page.

Read more about Redbridge’s London Marathon runners who raised thousands for charity in this Thursday’s Recorder.