Putting their best foot forward for the hospital

Four staff members from The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust showed their steel spirit alongside a member of the public in taking on the Sheffield Half Marathon to support the hospital’s charity.

Among the thousands of runners on the day were orthopaedic physiotherapy practitioner, Vanessa Caudwell; deputy general manager for surgery, Simon Thurman; physiotherapist, Peter Leggett; senior biomedical scientist, Holly Neill and charity supporter, Andrew Plant, of Maltby.

Vanessa said: “I was pleasantly surprised how well the run went, considering I only signed up two days before.

“My husband and kids cheered me on up the hill towards Ringinglow.

“It was a beautiful sunny day so I really appreciate the scenery on the edge of the Peak District.”

Peter, who works at BreathingSpace, completed the race in an impressive two hours, one minute.

“I had a really good run and it was lots of fun,” he said.

“I’m definitely keen to do it again next year — we need another team!”

Simon admitted how nerves had set in running up to the event, adding: “I hadn’t trained as much as I would have liked.

“I was expecting to hobble around in about three hours, but surprised myself by getting over the finish line in two hours, 28 minutes.

“I’m really chuffed with that time as it was a hot day. “

Holly said that her run had been a great challenge, adding: “It was definitely tough, especially the first six miles uphill.

“The views at the top were fantastic and the crowds and other runners made it a really enjoyable experience.”

The fundraising team said they wanted to thank everyone for their support and donations, with just over £700 raised to date by the five runners for The Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity.