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Runners get ready
RUNNERS from across the area will be getting up early and donning their trainers tomorrow when they clock up the miles in the Sheffield Half Marathon and London Marathon.
Among the 5,500 runners taking part in the Sheffield event is a team of more than 30 sixth-formers, parents and teachers from St Mary's High School in Chesterfield aiming to raise 10,000 for Weston Park Hospital.
Headteacher Sean McClafferty said: "I ran last year just after I became headteacher at the school and said I wouldn't run it again without other teachers and students.
"I am thrilled by the amount of dedication shown by the runners – it is a brilliant opportunity for us to raise money for a great cause."
Ros Arksey, aged 31, is running in Sheffield for Macmillan Cancer Support after losing several members of her family to terminal illness.
Ros' father-in-law lost his partner Eileen to cancer in February, her husband Ade's mum died in 1990 and she also lost an auntie and uncle in the last 10 years to cancer.
Learndirect customer and information officer Ros, from Endcliffe Park, who is aiming to raise 500, said: "After a few years of doing the Race for Life I began to feel that three miles was manageable and wanted to challenge myself a bit more."
Carole Bailey, from Frecheville, whose dad died of cancer, and friend Tracey Shaw will be running the Sheffield half marathon to help raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust and its specialist cancer unit at Weston Park hospital.
Carole pledged to do the half marathon every year, if she was able. "It's my way of thanking Weston Park for the superior care given to my dad and all our family at a very difficult time," she said.
Staff from accountancy firm Grant Thornton and lawyers from DLA. They are supporting Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind.
Andrew Hulse, a senior audit manager at Grant Thornton, said: "We are delighted to be able to throw our support behind a great cause."
Emma Diggle, 28, from Nether Edge, is running to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care after her grandfather died of the disease last year.
Staff from Sheffield Wildlife Trust are also running, including Sarah Thornton, Christina Kennedy, Kate Bridges, Edward Venison and Johnny Catchpole.
They will be joined by 14 Murphy Ltd employees, 10 in the fun run and four in the half marathon, all raising money for Sheffield Wildlife Trust.
Meanwhile, 16 St John Ambulance volunteers from Derbyshire – including 11 young people – will be among those travelling to the capital.
They are among 1,000 first aiders who will line the course offering plasters, Vaseline for blisters and other support to passing athletes.
Among the South Yorkshire runners taking part in London's 26.2 mile race is 40-year-old Sarah Lindley, a dental lab technician from Handsworth who is raising cash for Children with Leukaemia.
Caroline Aylott, 31, from Norfolk Park is running to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care along with Jason Harland, 37, from Maltby.
Derbyshire florist Michelle Buckle, 37, is running in aid of St John Ambulance and three other charities.
If it wasn't for St John Ambulance she would not have finished the course last year. She 'hit the wall' but was given encouragement and support by St John volunteers which enabled her to finish.
And Rotherham district policing commander Matt Jukes is running for Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice and has already managed to raise more than 5,000.
See Monday's Star for photos and reports from the half marathon and fun run
Send us your photos and tell us how your run went. Email jpegs to staronline@sheffieldnewspapers.co.uk and we will feature them on our website.
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: -3 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
