Mayfield mums run their first half marathon for Cuckoo for Cancer
1st March
Cuckoo for Cancer charity runners
Mayfield residents Nikki Lee-Billinghurst, Lizzie Young, Lucy Jervis, Alanna Golden and Emma Allchorne raised an incredible £1,300 in sponsorship for running the Brighton half marathon on Sunday 25th February 2018.
The ladies have been training together since May last year with short distance runs to fit around busy work schedules and their children’s school hours. Since setting their group goal for the Brighton half marathon they have been building up their fitness to run longer distances together.
Nikki Lee-Billinghurst, one of the committee members for Cuckoo for Cancer, said she was spurred on by her husband Dan who ran his first full marathon last year. She said: “I decided that if he can run a full marathon then I can run a half and it would be nice to do this together. Thankfully friends and family agreed to take on the challenge too!”
The ladies’ achieved a very respectable running time of around 2 hours 30 minutes to run the full 13.1 miles.
Cuckoo for Cancer is a local charity which was set up in 1999 to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Most of the members have either been touched personally by cancer or have a close contact with someone who has.
The Heathfield News spoke to one of its founding members Sue Mosey who explained that the charity was formed as a tribute to a family friend who lost her battle with cancer at a relatively young age. Sue said: “It was initially just a couple of people running tombolas, book stalls etc. but it quickly escalated into a group of 20 plus organising more diverse events.” To date the charity has raised over £180,000 all of which has gone towards Cancer Research UK’s work.
If you want to get involved in the work of this fantastic charity then there are a number of events to watch out for. Members of Cuckoo for Cancer will be holding a band night in Mayfield Village Hall on Saturday 3rd March and will be running a Bluebell walk in Arlington over the weekend of 12th and 13th May 2018. The Charity will also provide all the sponsor’s food for the Heathfield Show on Saturday 26th May 2018. For more information about the charity please contact Sue Mosey on sue@infinityserve.com.
