A small band from the Pebbletree team swapped their office shoes for their running shoes to take part in this year’s Race for Life.
Held at the picturesque Herrington Country Park, Sunderland, the event was to raise money for Cancer Research UK, of which the girls – Janni, Laura and Stephanie – dubbing themselves Team Pebbletree, raised in excess of £300.
For Stephanie, despite the feel good factor because of doing something for charity, it was also a lesson in preparation. The effects of the night before meant she was so determined to grab a drink of water at the finish line, that she forgot all about her medal.
She recalled: “I think my funniest part of the race was that I was so focused on getting water at the end, that I totally missed the medals they were giving out and had to go back for it!”
More than 2,600 runners tackled the 5k run on the day itself, after torrential rain the day before promised it would be tricky conditions for running in.
And this proved to be the case, so much so that Janni, Managing Director of Pebbletree, said that such were the levels of mud that many competitors ended up choosing to walk part of it.
Laura, who will be taking part in the Great North Run later this year, said: “It was more of a nice stroll along. I remember Steph totally forgetting to collect a medal and just grabbing a bottle of water at the finish line.”
“It was very muddy and we took a while to locate my car at the finish. I’m really looking forward to running in the BUPA Great North Run in September for another great cause – training is going well and I’m hoping for a good finish time.”
Organisers estimate that a total of £140,000 will be raised from the 722 runners taking part in the 10k course and the 2,600 plus running (or strolling) in the 5k course.
