Students ready to run again for tragic Mexborough teacher Hana in annual Santa Dash

Laurel Academy PE teacher Hana Szczepkowski (pictured) died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 31 and her former students, colleagues and their families have made their festive fun run and annual tradition.

The sporty Mexborough school has held the winter run annually since 2016 and added a sponsored rounders tournament to the calendar in July.

The event takes place at Manvers Lake on Saturday, with a fun run of one lap of the lake at 9.30am — fancy dress is optional.

This will be followed with the Santa Dash at 10am with runners invited to complete up to three laps.

Entries is £5 per child and £8 per adult, with all proceeds going to cancer charity Team Verrico.

Bob Finch, of Manvers Waterfront Boat Club, said: “All competitors will receive a free Santa hat to run in. Santas, Elfs and Rudolfs are all welcome.

“Why not get sponsored to walk, run or dash — sponsor form attached or use link below to raise money in Hana’s memory for an amazing charity?

“This is not a race, but prizes will be awarded for best fancy dress and fastest time for distance covered.”

Refreshments will be available after the race in the boathouse, as well as balloon modelling and charity stalls.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/manvershanarun to register for the run.