Melton teachers raise £750 for Birch Wood School by doing fulfilling half marathon

At the finish (left to right): Poppy Marriott, Lee Burrows, Daniel Hudson and Robbie Hesketh PHOTO: Supplied

Daniel Hudson, senior teaching assistant, Robbie Hesketh, teacher, Poppy Marriott, trainee teacher, and Lee Burrows, learning support assistant, raised £750 for the school’s autism provision by doing the Leicestershire Half Marathon at Prestwold Hall.

The quartet smashed their fundraising target of £600 through their JustGiving page and generous cash donations.

Speaking about the team’s preparation, Daniel said: “I started off a school running club back in May of last year called Canter with Banter.

“I selfishly set it up as I wanted to take up running as a hobby and I really couldn’t run by myself at that point.

“Colleagues and I ran every Wednesday after work and we did a couple of miles here and there, but I did not envisage doing a half marathon nine months after setting up the running group.

“The goal was to do some 5ks and build it up to 10ks before even a mention of doing a half marathon. I just popped it into conversation once as a joke and (pardon the pun) everybody ran with it!”

Robbie and Poppy crossed the finish line together in a time of 2 hours 4 minutes, Lee did it in 2 hours 25 minutes and Daniel finished after 2 hours 35 minutes.

Daniel added: “The overall experience was overwhelming. All of us had different fitness levels and we supported each other throughout the training and on the big day.

“A big shout out to Renee Downing, too. She is the business manager at Birch Wood and was unable to run due to injury. Renee gave us all great encouragement throughout and was greatly missed on the day.

“All of us are beaming with pride for not only our own self achievements, but to raise money for such wonderful children at our school.”