Staff and students at Wolverhampton Grammar School are putting their best foot forward in order to launch their 2008 Coast to Coast run, being held in aid of a leading regional charity.
The ten Year 10 students will be running more than 190 miles across the width of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea in 24 hours. Proceeds from the run will go to support the regional branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Heidi Dalzell, head of girl’s games at WGS explains: “Coast to Coast is an annual event which has been taking place for several years now, last year’s event raised almost £6,500 for Muscular Dystrophy.
“The 10 chosen students work hard to prepare for the run which follows the Wainwright walk from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire. It is quite an undertaking, but the students always respond so fantastically to the challenge.”
The event involves students running for half-an-hour then resting for three-and-a-half, continuously over a 24 hour period. Each runner has the backing of an entourage including a fully equipped support vehicle and a ‘night bus’ which allows students to sleep between night time runs.
This year students are running on behalf of the regional branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA). The MNDA is a cause particularly close to the school, as four years ago a former WGS student, David Hussellbee, the uncle of one of current Coast to Coast team member Freya Hussellbee, tragically died from the disease.
Susan Passmore regional fundraiser for the MNDA comments: “We were thrilled when WGS approached us to offer their support. Events such as this do so much to raise much needed funds and to increase awareness of this terrible disease.
“Motor neurone disease (MND) is a rapidly progressive, fatal disease that affects around 5,000 people in this country. In the UK at least five people a day die from MND and life expectancy for most people with MND is just two to five years.
“The Coast to Coast event will enable us to continue to support those with motor neurone disease and their families, and to fight against a disease for which there is currently no known cause or cure.”
The annual WGS Coast to Coast run will take place over the weekend of 23 & 24 May. If you would like to offer your support, please call 01902 421326 or go to www.wgs.org.uk. To find out more about motor neurone disease and the work of the MNDA go to: www.mndassociation.org
ENDS
Pictured : (1) Susan Passmore with the WGS Coast to Coast team
(2)The Coast to Coast team prepare for the challenge ahead