COMMUNITY running group, ‘The Race Angels’, gave their time up to support the runners at the Warrington half marathon on Sunday, 25.
The group, who can be identified by their bright orange ‘Race Angel’ tops, offer support and run alongside participants who want them to during the vital and sometimes hardest last few miles of a race.
Stationed on Knutsford Road at the 12-mile point of the race, eight members of the club showed up at the half marathon last weekend to offer their help and encouragement for the last push.
The generous volunteers from the Race Angel team that appeared on the day consisted of Hazel Williams, Georgina Walker, Rob Todd, Darren Hall, David Roberts, Louise Bradbury, Paul Jackson and Adrienne Lloyd.
Adrienne Lloyd, founder of the group said the team ‘received a great reception’ from both runners and spectators at the event.
“We are very lucky to have such a wonderful team who give their time up to help other runners,” she said.
“We clapped, cheered, and gave jelly babies out until our services were need, then one by one the team were in their stride running alongside runners. Some runners asked for us to run with them, for the others, we have become the master of body language and can usually gauge if somebody would benefit from a Race Angel.”
Adrienne, originally from Penketh, came up with the concept of Race Angels in 2015 and her team of volunteers have appeared at many major running events all over the country, including the Manchester Marathon, Reading Half Marathon, Cambridge Half Marathon and Chester Marathon.
Adrienne said: “We enjoyed working with the new organisers of the Warrington race and will be adding it as a regular event in the Race Angel calendar.”
The volunteers received fantastic feedback after the Warrington half marathon with one participant commenting on her help from Race Angel runner, Paul Jackson, saying: “l just wanted to say a huge thank you for the race angels. I got to mile 12 and there was a few stood there chatting and cheering (I had no clue who they were, thought they were another running club).
“They shouted support to me, and I replied with ‘thank you - I'm struggling’, to then find a race angel run beside me and said ‘come on ill run a bit with you’. He was an absolute godsend; I couldn't talk much but the support and motivation he gave really helped push me. Amazing what you do. Thank you so much.”
To find out more information about the fantastic work Race Angels do, visit their Facebook page ‘The Original Race Angels’.
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