Thameslink colleagues cycle, walk and jog more than 800 miles to raise nearly £2,000 for our NHS health heroes

A team of Govia Thameslink Railway colleagues have cycled, walked and jogged more than 800 miles to raise cash for NHS staff and volunteers caring for Covid-19 patients.
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The eight train presentation colleagues came up with the idea of covering the distance from the most northern depots on the GTR network in Bedford and Peterborough, down to the depots in Littlehampton and Bognor Regis in the south west and Brighton and Eastbourne in the south east – a total of 349 miles.

Train presentation manager Anthony Dowsett, who is based at the Brighton and Eastbourne depots, said: “We are full of admiration for the amazing work everyone at the NHS is doing, and as fellow key workers we wanted to show our support for them.

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“Covering hundreds of miles has been both challenging and great fun. It’s spurred us on to up our fitness levels and it’s been incredibly rewarding to have smashed our fundraising target for NHS Charities Together.”

Anthony Dowsett and James CantyAnthony Dowsett and James Canty
Anthony Dowsett and James Canty

The rest of the team consisted of James Canty, from the Bognor Regis and Littlehampton depots, Simon Beal at Littlehampton, Janine Foulger and Daniel Odgers at Bedford, Emilia Zawisza at Cricklewood, and Allison Welsh and Arun James, who are both based at the Selhurst depot.

Adhering to Government guidelines at the time, each colleague exercised in their local area and logged their distance on running application Strava.

However, in just two weeks they far exceeded 349 miles and instead covered an impressive 838.5 miles – the equivalent of travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

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They also smashed their fundraising target of £1,000 for the NHS Charities Together by raising £1,905.

To donate, visit their JustGiving page.

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