A running enthusiast has completed the famous Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge to raise money for Royal Preston Hospital’s Research team.

Inglewhite resident Helen Witter has raised more than £500 so far whilst undertaking the mammoth challenge.

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She decided to take on the task after a number of marathons and half marathons she had entered and trained for were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Helen said: “I have always loved running and I never do things by halves, so I decided I wanted to do something positive and entered the virtual challenge with a company called End to End.

“I successfully ran the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats, but did it in my familiar surroundings – every day and in all kinds of weather!

“I ran around 50 or 60 miles per week and completed the challenge in 103 days, coming 97^th out of around 3700 walkers and runners. I’m really proud to say I finished injury free!

“I am a member of the Whitechapel and Inglewhite WI, and a number of the ladies there agreed to support me. I want to thank them and everyone else who has given so generously.

“I chose the Research team at Royal Preston Hospital because of Alison, the daughter of a friend, who works there, and her daughter Katie, who works on the frontline.

“I hope the money helps them to continue to make developments in finding treatments for coronavirus, and I wish them all the very best.”

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Paul Brown, Head of Research and Innovation at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is wonderful. On behalf of the Research team here at Royal Preston Hospital, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Helen for her incredible efforts to fundraise for us.

“As a runner, I know this is no mean feat, and for Helen to complete such a famously difficult challenge in support of our team is just fantastic.

“Our Research team are working around the clock to find and develop new treatments, and we currently have more than 1700 patients recruited onto Covid-19 research trials since the start of the pandemic.

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“This money will go a long way in supporting us to continue this work for patients and staff – thank you again, Helen!”

Helen received support from the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity throughout her challenge, something the team were more than happy to provide at what has been an extremely challenging time.

Helen’s JustGiving page is still live and donations can be made here.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines

What do you think about Helen’s fundraising efforts? Let us know in the comments below