Fit for marathon challenge

Construction work is under way at Borders General Hospital, but about £500,000 is still required.

This group hopes to raise around £10,000 by running the Edinburgh Marathon and taking part in a host of other fundraising activities. Aged from 18 to over 50, the team will run relays to complete the course, knocking up a total of more than 400 miles – the equivalent of Edinburgh to London.

Runners of all abilities have taken up the challenge.

One of the organisers, Trish Henderson from Melrose, commented: “Many of us have raised money for different charities in the past, but this time everyone has come together to support the Margaret Kerr appeal because the whole of the Borders will benefit from it.

“It’s a great way for people to come together, have fun, keep fit and raise money for an inspirational cause. Keep a lookout for us all on the day – we’ll be wearing bright yellow vests with the Margaret Kerr logo.”

Other money-making efforts by the group include a Six Nations rugby day, golf tournament, coffee mornings and a disco.

Jeremy Brett, who is helping to co-ordinate the runners, said: “With so many people taking part, we’ve decided to hold lots of events throughout the summer.

“It’s a great way to support the teams and raise as much money as possible. It’s worked very well for everyone in the past when we’ve raised many thousands of pounds for charities, from war veterans to kidney dialysis machines.

“Hopefully, we’re going to break all our own records together and raise over £10,000 for the Margaret Kerr appeal.”

The teams of four runners will each run a leg of the marathon with the so-called final glory leg coming in at 4.5 miles. The group has been holding special training nights to get everyone through the gruelling event.

Jeremy added: “We’ve split all abilities across all the teams and we’ll have a trophy for the best team on the day.

“You can’t beat a bit of competition to get everyone training hard. There’s a fantastic team spirit that will get everyone through it.”

If you would like to help the team visit http://www.justgiving.com/melrose-relay-runners or pass any donations to Jeremy Brett at Brett Investment, 5 St Dunstans Lane, Melrose.