Nurse Plus Employee Completes London Marathon

Emotions were flying high as a dedicated runner from Nurse Plus, Cheltenham, passed the finishing line at the London Marathon on Sunday.

Branch manager, Steve Smith, completed the 26-mile course in 5 hours 43 minutes, raising nearly £2k for national disability charity, Leonard Cheshire Disability.

Leonard Cheshire is the official charity partner for healthcare recruitment provider Nurse Plus and branches across the UK are being supported and encouraged to take part in fundraising challenges.

Steve, commented: “I was inspired to do 10x10k races for Leonard Cheshire after meeting with the team and residents who use the service. I found out how fundamental having an evening and weekend driver was to the resident’s independence and that it may come to an end if they didn’t receive more donations.

“I wanted to help with this and saw that Leonard Cheshire were putting a team together for the London Marathon. I knew it would be a great challenge for me and it would help massively towards keeping the driver.

“I’m still buzzing from the whole experience. It was emotional and a real sense of achievement when I caught sight of the finishing line.”

Pamela Bruce, Nurse Plus managing director, commented: “We’re extremely proud of Steve for his hard work and dedication in completing the marathon. We’re looking forward to presenting the cheque to Leonard Cheshire and seeing the benefits of the money raised.”

Steve is planning to add to his fundraising efforts by running the final seven 10k races for Leonard Cheshire’s 100 for 100 campaign, designed to celebrate the charity’s 100th birthday by raising money to support individuals to live, learn and work independently.

A number of fundraising activities and events have been planned in other areas to raise funds for Leonard Cheshire, including walking the Great Wall of China, sky dives, bake sales and coffee mornings.