Colleagues at the University of Worcester are preparing to take part in the Worcester City Runs next month in support of a diabetes charity with special significance to the team.
Four colleagues from the University of Worcester Arena will be joined by a former member of staff as they take on the Worcester 10K and Half Marathon on 13 September to raise money for Breakthrough T1D, which supports people who have Type 1 diabetes.
Jess Kearns and Brad Hunt will be completing the Worcester 10k with former Arena team member Shannon Hayes, while Meg Lisle and Jack Lambert take on the Worcester Half Marathon. Between them they will be covering more than 44 miles, aiming to raise £500.
Their efforts are inspired by Jess’ experiences with her three-year-old daughter Hallie, who was diagnosed as Type 1 diabetic at 10 months old.
Deputy Arena Event Operations Manager, Jess, said: “It’s a way of giving back, to raise money so that we can help other families that are going through what we went through and also raise awareness that it’s not a disease that affects just adults.”
She added: “She’s the main reason we’re doing this. It’s a day-to-day struggle and it’s 24/7, there’s no respite. It’s a completely different lifestyle than you expect your child to be going through. When you don’t want to get up and go train, seeing what she goes through day to day and other people, it’s a motivation, for me especially.”
Other members of the team were keen to help raise funds after seeing first-hand the challenges Jess and her family face as they manage Hallie’s condition day to day.
“It’s good to show a bit of support,” said Jack. “We’re a small team so we work closely together. We just see a small part of what Jess has to deal with so it’s great to do this for a charity that helps people who are going through something similar and that we can see the benefit of having.”
The team has a range of fitness and experience when it comes to running, with Meg and Jess running before work together. Shannon is an experienced 10k runner, Brad goes to the gym or runs every day, while it will be a first ever half marathon for both Meg and Jack.
Jess said: “We’ll be supporting each other at the end to make sure we get over the finish line.”
Donate to support the team’s efforts on their JustGiving webpage: www.justgiving.com/page/uw-arena-bt1d.