THE TWO Castles Run was awash with orange t-shirts as the University of Warwick raised over £9,500 for charities.
Around 120 runners associated with the Canley-based university took to the streets at the weekend collecting over £9,650 for charities.
Among the team were runners taking part on behalf of the Grace Research Fund – raising over £2,500 for the Coventry and Warwickshire charity.
Based at the University of Warwick, the fund supports research into the causes of premature births and the best forms of neonatal care at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
One of the runners, Gareth Owen, who is a staff member at the University of Warwick, completed his debut in the 10km course in 64 minutes to raise £500 for the Grace Research Fund.
Speaking about his first race, 32-year-old Gareth said he was ‘slightly disappointed’ with his time.
He added: “It is a hard uphill course but the scenery is beautiful and it is good not to run in one big circle.
“I was banking on it being downhill from Warwick Castle but that wasn’t the case.
“Everywhere you seemed to look there was a sea of bright orange T-shirts.
“It was great to see and a lot of people had turned out to support us from the university.
“The Grace Research Fund is the sort of charity I wanted to run for because it works locally, but supports research that fundamentally makes a difference to people’s lives around the world.”
Still wearing their orange T-shirts, the runners went from the finishing line at Kenilworth Castle to the home of Dr Andy Coe, consultant paediatrician at University Hospital, for a celebratory drink.
Dr Coe said: “It has become a tradition that we invite everyone who has taken part in the Two Castles Run to raise money for the Grace Research Fund for a drink at our home afterwards to say thank you.
“We really appreciate all the training and fundraising the runners do on behalf of the Grace Research Fund and it is a good chance to chat about the event – and catch their breath back.”
Elsewhere, #TeamWarwickUni was the third fastest team overall thanks to the speedy steps of its fastest four runners – Phil Gaydon, Samik Datta, Nathaniel Tkacz and Cara Smith.
