Story
On Sunday 13th September, five of our athletic colleagues will be participating in the Wirral Half Marathon/10k in the hopes of raising a generous amount in support of our chosen charity; Wirral Hospice St John’s.
About the Charity
Wirral Hospice St John's provides Specialist Palliative Care and support for patients with severe and progressive disease, where curative treatment is no longer possible.
They work in conjunction with the Wirral Hospital and Community Specialist Palliative Care teams to provide an integrated service for patients whilst extending care and support to those close to them.
This year the cost of running the Hospice will be £3.1 million pounds for the year, £258 thousand per month and £8490 for 24 hours of care, which is at no charge to their patients. The majority of this will be paid for via what local voluntary sources can raise by way of donations.
Cathy Lewis-Jones, Medical Director at the hospice, said: “Such support is essential for us if we are to continue to help individuals and families and we’re incredibly grateful to DTM Legal for their backing this year”.
About the Event and the Team
The event is a point to point race which sees a mix of runners of all abilities race an amazing, flat course which many participants have found has PB potential. Starting in Birkenhead Park the race follows a path through the Birkenhead Docks to the River Mersey promenade at the Seacombe Ferry and then on to New Brighton.
At the Marine Point retail park, the 10K contingent peel off to finish their race while the half marathon continue along the Wirral coastline as far as the Leasowe Castle Hotel where they loop back and return to the finish line on Coastal Drive.
Our team will be part of the 10k contingent and they are;
Alison Brennan – Estimated time 55 minutes
Ali is a member of Chester Tri Club and completed the Olympic distance Deva Triathlon in 2014 and 2015. She says she’s looking forward to a run which is not preceded by a dip in the River Dee and a bike ride!
Richard Thomas – Estimated time 55
minutes
Richard has no competitive running experience whatsoever
save for racing his children to the ice cream van. On the basis of there being
no pain no gain, Richard is confident there will be tremendous gain for this
extremely worthwhile charity. Richard will though be ring-fencing some of the
money he raises in order to give it to St John’s Ambulance as their services
will no doubt be called upon by him at the end of the race, if he makes it!
Anna Duffy – Estimated time 1 hour
Anna enjoys running in the fresh air and finds it very
therapeutic but at a rather slower pace than that of her colleagues who are
very competitive! She will endeavour to pick up her pace for such a good
cause.
Ed Barnes – Estimated time 48 minutes
Having done various triathlons and two London marathons in the past and,
more recently, the Scafell Pike Mountain Marathon in June, Ed is looking
forward to a slightly shorter, flatter run (but not looking forward to having
to go a bit faster than his usual slow pace) and to helping raise funds for a
great cause.
Victoria Evans – Estimated time 1
hour 30 minutes
Victoria
having participated in a few short charitable runs many moons ago thought this
would be a good opportunity to get some exercise and raise money for a good
cause. Having seen the estimated times of her colleagues she is more than a
little concerned and is confident that she will definitely require the St Johns
Ambulance Service when she finally crosses the finish line……………….........way behind her
colleagues!