A DEDICATED group of runners battled the gruelling Virgin London Marathon to give Chester a new vision centre.
A team of professionals including teachers and police inspectors, took to the streets of the capital back in April, after they were given special gold bond tickets by the Chester Lions.
They raised more than £15,000 in the feat, which was a joint venture between the Lions and Chester’s Vision Support centre in Whipcord Lane.
The funds will be used to build a new sight centre, which will enable people with a vision impairment to receive support and advice, socialise and take part in a changing programme of events, activities and courses.
And as World Sight Day falls in October, it seemed there was no better time to celebrate the runners’ achievement.
Their success inspired one member of the team, Mike Kayley, to put himself forward for the Chester Marathon, with proceeds again going to Vision Support.
“I’m a keen marathon runner and have run for many charities in the past but the support I got from Vision Support was phenomenal,” he said.
“I was so impressed that I decided to run the Chester Marathon to help raise more funds for the charity, which is especially appropriate as the marathon fell on the week of World Sight Day.”
Miriam Wright, chief executive of Vision Support, expressed her gratitude to both the runners and Chester Lions.
“I would like to thank both the Chester Lions for supporting the charity, and the runners who trained and worked so hard on our behalf,” she said.
If you would like to sponsor Mike, go to http://www.justgiving.com/ mick-kayley.
