Sue Beckett and Hilda Orme, Southwell housewives who have taken to the jogging track with determination, are seen here in training for the Robin Hood Half Marathon which was held in Nottingham on 4th October.
Sue and Hilda first decided to enter a running race after watching the London Marathon on television last year and they set about training seriously twice a week, starting with just three quarters of a mile in April and building up to 13 miles last month.
The two ladies trained on Tuesday and Thursday evenings each week, running through the streets of Southwell, while their husbands James and Peter stayed home babysitting.
Peter Orme eventually joined them to keep fit and actually ran the Robin Hood Marathon too. Of the 3,000 entrants only 200 were women, so Hilda and Sue found themselves cheered on by crowds all along the route. Their families were there to see them finish well up with the leaders in their class and all three finished in just under 2 hours 10 minutes.
The two ladies were sponsored by numerous friends and relations as well as by Beckett Builders of Southwell and they raised £130, half going to the Marathon organisers’ chosen charity, Care, and the other half divided between SPLASH fund and Birthright, charities chosen by Sue and Hilda.
They were also given new T shirts for training by Minster Brokers of Southwell.It is hoped to organise both a half and a full marathon in Nottingham again next year and both Sue and HIlda are already back in training in preparation for their next challenge – a full marathon.