Run for home: staff from Hunters Teesside estate agents will take part in the Tees Pride 10k for Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation. From left, Jordan Clayton, Lisa Preston, Georgina Evans, Rebecca Wilkinson, Rosie Marucci, Eleanor Matthews and Tom Osborne.
Runners representing three companies who are generous patrons of Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation are in the running to take part in this weekend’s Tees Pride 10k.
AV Dawson, px Group and Hunters estate agents will all be represented in the popular annual run around Middlesbrough, helping to raise funds for Teesside good causes.
Funds they raise will benefit local food banks, grass roots sports organisations and a myriad of local charities.
While AV Dawson managing director Gary Dawson is taking part as a warm-up for the following week’s Great North Run, which he’s also running for the Foundation, both px Group and Hunters have entered staff teams.
Px Group, the Stockton-based engineering consultancy, will be represented by the company’s legal director Daniel Weatherill and colleagues Sarah Garvey, Chris Harper and Paul Brown.
The 10k course should prove relatively easy for Guisborough man Paul, an operator on px Group’s gas processing plant, who last year became European Triathlon champion for the 35-40 years age group.
However, it is a chance for Paul to return a favour after the Foundation sponsored him £500 to take part in the triathlon that took place in Austria.
For Sarah, the run is a second big fundraising challenge to test her fitness whilst boosting the Philanthropic Foundation, as she joined other px staff on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge earlier this year, helping to raise more than £6,000 for the charitable movement.
Meanwhile, Middlesbrough-headquartered estate agents Hunters will be represented by staff Lisa Preston, Tom Osborne, Rosie Marucci, Jordan Clayton, Rebecca Wilkinson, Elle Matthews and Elle’s boyfriend Alex Taylor.
General manager Lisa admits it took some arm-twisting to ensure Hunters were so well represented.
Lisa laughed: “I pretty much didn’t give anyone the choice – they had to come to me with a letter from their doctor if they wanted out! Some of them plan to walk at least some of the distance but that’s fine as long as they get round.”
While Lisa and Jordan are experienced runners, having completed the Great North Run and the Middlesbrough 10k two years ago, their fellow team members are not such fitness fanatics.
It will be a first ever organised run for regular jogger Becky, who says she was only persuaded to take part to support the good cause, while asthma sufferer Rosie admits she is not looking forward to running for the first time since she left school seven years ago.
“I’m dreading it,” admitted Rosie, from Central Middlesbrough. “I don’t really exercise apart from my 10-minute walk to work. I struggle to get up the stairs!
“I said I was going to do it and then regretted it afterwards. I’ve never run anything like this distance but I’m up for the challenge. I’ll just make sure I carry my inhaler with me and will run and walk the full distance.
