Running club raises £600 for cancer charity

Members of Olney Runners took to Emberton Park at the weekend in their Charity 5k Day – runners set off on the hour, every hour from 8.00am to 8.00pm to run round the park, completing 5 kilometres each time. Members could sign up for as many or as few laps as they wished and they donated for each entry.

Olney Runners ready for first Charity 5k lap | Olney Runners

placeholder image — Olney Runners ready for first Charity 5k lap | Olney Runners

There were eight hardy runners who completed all 12 laps, 60 kilometres in total (almost 43 miles) and the whole event raised over £600 for Al’s Pals, a charity based in Milton Keynes which offers a service to all cancer patients. It’s named after Alan Dumbell, who received cancer treatment at Milton Keynes University Hospital.

Alan noticed that throughout his treatment, although he was surrounded by his loving family, he still felt very lonely and lost at times, and he often discussed having a ‘buddy’ to support and help him where he felt things were missing. It is his legacy to have a cancer buddy scheme like this and with the passion of his daughter, Al’s Pals was born.

Olney Runners who completed all 12 laps
L to R: Terry O’Cleirigh, Chris Barnes, Mark Johnson, Salvatore Seminerio. Mary Jones, Andrew Jones, Martin Rouse and Anthony O’Neil — Olney Runners who completed all 12 laps L to R: Terry O’Cleirigh, Chris Barnes, Mark Johnson, Salvatore Seminerio. Mary Jones, Andrew Jones, Martin Rouse and Anthony O’Neil | Olney Runners

Olney Runner Dawn Bridge is a volunteer for the charity and put it forward for the fundraising event. She and other volunteers from Al’s Pals manned the sign-in gazebo and cheered on the 79 runners who took part over the course of the day.

If you’d like to know more about Olney Runners, go to olneyrunners.org.uk or find us on Facebook and Instagram