A team of five runners carried a kitchen table 6.2 miles around the streets of Port Sunlight during the village’s BTR Liverpool 10K to raise money for Maggie’s Merseyside, located next to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

Stuart Hughes, from the National Asbestos Helpline based in Chester, put together the ‘table team’ of Alison Hughes and Vern Jackson from Chester, Amanda Boughey from Comberbach, and Richard Hughes from Spital in Wirral, after being inspired by Maggie’s Merseyside’s own kitchen table.

Maggie’s Merseyside, based in Wirral, provides free practical and emotional support that makes a massive difference to people living with cancer in the Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales region.

Stuart, from Newton in Chester, said: “We carried a kitchen table because it is the focal point of every Maggie’s Centre in the country.

“Anyone impacted by cancer can walk into a Maggie’s Centre, grab a cup of tea and a biscuit, sit down at the kitchen table and for a while not feel like a patient.

“It’s an amazing place for anyone - and their family and friends - living with cancer.”

The five friends finished the race with the table in one hour 20 minutes and raised more than £250 – and counting!

The 1.2m-long table came complete with mugs, a teapot and a tin of shortbread, which could only be opened and eaten once they had crossed the finish line.

Vern Jackson, from Vicars Cross in Chester, said: “The support we got from the Port Sunlight crowd and our fellow runners was amazing.

“They lifted our spirits and kept us going right to the finish line.”

Richard Hughes, from Spital in Wirral, said: “Despite having the four extra legs it was tough going but absolutely worth it for Maggie’s Merseyside – it’s an amazing place run by incredible people!”

Alison Hughes, from Newton in Chester, said: “Even before we’d started the race people were putting donations into the mugs we’d stuck to the top of the table!

Maggie’s table team
Maggie’s table team

“Everyone was so generous and supportive.

“Hopefully they’ll also remember the kitchen table and about the wonderful Maggie’s Merseyside.”

Holly Smith, centre fundraising manager for Maggie’s Merseyside, says: “The ‘table team’ have really gone above and beyond, what a fantastic challenge and amazing way to raise awareness of the important support that Maggie’s offers.

“Support is offered free of charge at Maggie’s in a warm and welcoming environment with the kitchen table at its heart. Our team of professional staff and other centre visitors, who know what you’re going through, provide psychological and emotional support to those who have cancer themselves and their friends and family.

“Our centre relies on the generosity and kindness of our amazing supporters who, especially so in this case, continue to go the extra mile to keep the doors of our centre open.

“We can’t thank the team enough and hope their legs and arms stop aching soon!”

Maggie’s Merseyside offers a way of living well with cancer. This includes making sure that people with cancer, as well as their family and friends, are listened to, that they are offered tailored individual support, group support and practical advice, all delivered by qualified professionals within a space that enables them to meet other people who understand what it means to be living with cancer too.

The Port Sunlight 10K was held on June 17 but you can still sponsor the kitchen table efforts of Stuart, Ali, Vern, Manda and Rich by going to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/maggieskitchentablerun .