Team CAFOD’s Great North Run 2008

Staff from Cardinal Heenan School in Leeds ran Great North Run for CAFOD.

The half-marathon from Newcastle to South Shields took place on Sunday 5 October and amongst the 52,000 runners, 200 sporty supporters made up Team CAFOD, raising tens of thousands

Every runner had stories to tell of their training and their inspiration for running. Their achievements made this a really big day for CAFOD.

Fr John McElhone from St Aidan’s Church in Wallsend raised £1,500. He said, “You’ve just got to join in! I’m not sporty at all but it was the amazing atmosphere that made a difference.“

Matthew Smith from Bury St Edmunds and Deborah Farrington from Southport were the first CAFOD runners to cross the line. Matt’s dad Robin also ran. Matt said: “It was a great race. My dad always inspires me. We’ll definitely continue to run and raise money for CAFOD.”

A group from Cardinal Heenan School in Leeds, Anne Waddington, Diane Ward, Trish Gallagher (see picture above), Hannah Salmon, Luke Matterson, Nick Forbes and May Johnston together raised nearly £2000. English teacher Trish said, “It was enjoyable to run with the crowds cheering you on, especially in the sunshine!”

Katy Brookes-Duncan, 40, trained so hard for the race, she lost six stone over a year. She said: “I was motivated to keep fit and support CAFOD’s work.”

Runner David Goley (22) recently won the British University Sports Association gold medal for Sheffield University. David said, “CAFOD really makes you see the bigger picture, working together to fight poverty and injustice in the world.”

Sam Foster (22) a jeweller, now training to go to the British Army’s officer training academy at Sandhurst next year, ran with his girlfriend Emma cheered on by their families. He said, “It’s just a test of determination that kept me going and knowing what I was running for. “

CAFOD’s youngest runner was Sophie Hughes from Bishop Auckland, at just 17. Sophie said, “I had seen it on TV before and it was a great experience to actually do it!”

John McBride from Consett was dubbed ‘barefoot man’ by his local media after making a promise to run without trainers, showing his solidarity with people in the developing world. John said: “To be honest, it was very hard! But I had a group of supporters from CAFOD who cheered me on the last mile, and got me through, just!

Congratulations to all runners for their amazing support.

For all those inspired by Team CAFOD’s efforts, why not sign up to take part in the Liverpool Fun Run on 27th December 2009? (contact the CAFOD Liverpool office for more information - liverpool@cafod.org.uk ) or visit www.cafod.org.uk/sponsoredevents for further information about other sponsored events.

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