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Record-breaking run for Oxford Children's Hospital

26/03/2018
This article is more than six years old.

A fun run for the Oxford Children's Hospital looks set to break all past fundraising records.

2018's five miler at Blenheim Palace has passed £126,000 in income - already beating last year's total - with sponsorship still coming in.

Over 1,000 people took part in the Oxford Mail OX5RUN, which is organised by Oxford Hospitals Charity and sponsored by Allen Associates.

Many of the runners were staff from the Trust, with teams from across the Children's Division, as well as Haematology, Horton General, Cardiac, Microbiology, Vaccine Research and Diabetes all taking part.

Families grateful for the care their children receive formed fancy-dressed teams for the run, and young cancer patients Anna and Noah were the official starters of the race.

The event was won by Abingdon AC runner, Owen Stepney, who completed the route in 27m 26s.

First woman across the line was Sarah Rendell in 35m 7s. Sarah was part of the Beth's Bees fundraising team, who have already raised over £3000 in sponsorship.

Dr Taffy Makaya (pictured), a Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology, took part in the run and raised over £1,000.

Dr Makaya said:

"I have been working at Oxford Children's Hospital for five years now. Every day I am in awe of the amazing job done by all the wonderful staff here. The love, care and compassion shown by my colleagues in the medical, nursing and administration departments is truly amazing, so it's been lovely to give something back.

"This was my first ever OX5RUN and I have to say it was amazing. The atmosphere was incredibly special; it was wonderful to see so many staff from the hospitals and so many families we look after in fancy dress and having fun. I can't believe I have already raised £1,000, people have been so generous and I'm already looking forward to next year!"

Gail Williams, the event organiser from Oxford Hospitals Charity said:

"It has been a privilege to work on an event which has been in the hearts and minds of patients, staff and supporters of the Children's Hospital for so many years.

"After all the hard work and planning it was wonderful to see everything come together on Sunday - and the sunshine was a real bonus!

"This is a true community event, with runners of all ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes united in one thing - their affection for our amazing Children's Hospital.

"We are so proud of what everyone has already achieved, and really excited about what the final total might be if all our runners keep fundraising for a few more days."

All the photos from the day can be found on the Oxford Hospitals Charity Facebook page.

Please see the Sportsystems website for runners' times

There is still time to donate to the hospital on behalf of any of the runners:

Text Chox05 £5 to 70070

Call 01865 743444