Almost 800 participants gathered at Blenheim Palace for a fundraiser anticipated to generate over £100,000 for an Oxford-based charity.
Members of the public arrived at the Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site, where Winston Churchill was born, for the 24th edition of the OX5 RUN.
The event involves participants running, jogging or walking five miles through the historic grounds to support Oxford Hospitals Charity, which provides funding for medical equipment, research, training and hospital facilities.
The charity’s contributions have already helped establish Cancer and Heart Centres in Oxford and the Oxford Children’s Hospital.
The event commenced at 10:30am on Sunday, March 22, with 13-year-old Eliza Hammond and six-year-old Elliott Williamson, both young patients, sending runners on their way.
Elliott, from Beckley, whose surname was not disclosed, has recently completed leukaemia treatment on Kamran’s Ward, which cares for children with cancer.
His father Guy was part of Team Kamran’s, the top fundraising team this year.
He said he took part in the OX5 run as a small way to give back to the hospital that has done so much for his family since Elliot was diagnosed with Leukaemia eight months ago. His resilience, bravery, and good humour in the face of everything he has endured is inspirational.
At the OX5 RUN, teams of families were joined by numerous hospital staff, including the 60-strong Team Haem, Children’s Radiology, Oxford Vaccine Group, AAU, Emergency Department, Team Microbiology, PICU, and many more.
Claire Hughes, events officer at Oxford Hospitals Charity, said it was a glorious sunny day, with a wonderful sense of community and shared purpose.
She said they were so grateful to all the teams of families, hospital staff and the local business community that came together at this special run. There was such a wonderful atmosphere, a real coming together, and they were thrilled at how many people seemed to really enjoy the whole day.
The event was won by 15-year-old Edward Hare, part of the Beth’s Bees team, in 29 minutes exactly, with Erica Davison, of Team Magnet Technology winning the cup for first female in 30m 58s.
Local businesses taking part included Penny and Sinclair, Oxford Science Park, Magnet Technology and Breckon & Breckon, who also sponsored the medals.
Ms Hughes added that the runners had worked so hard on their fundraising, and they were on track to raise £100,000 or more to make a difference for their young patients.
Their special thanks went to everyone who took part, and also to Breckon & Breckon for their kind sponsorship of the medals, Blenheim Palace for hosting them, and Get Radio for their music and compering on the day.
Next year marks the 25th anniversary of this truly local event, and they were hoping that people who had taken part throughout the years would join them for a real celebration of everything the OX5 RUN had achieved.