Physios take the title in Marathon Staff Cup Challenge
A team of runners from Derriford Hospital’s Physiotherapy Department fought off tough competition from Trust colleagues to claim the title for this year’s Half Marathon Staff Cup Challenge, with a very impressive average running time of 1 hour 31 minutes and 42 seconds!
The annual tournament pits teams from across the Trust against each other, with the team with the fastest five runners taking the prize. The challenge is open to all staff groups including nurses, junior doctors, consultant, naval personnel and support staff. This year’s teams included Cardiac, Medical Assessment Unit and Finance.
This year sees Physiotherapy win the trophy for the second time, with previous winners including Paediatrics (2012), Pharmacy (2013) and Imaging (2014). The top five runners from the team were Mike Wilsmore, Jake Hughes, Will Hawling, Alex Jack and Helen White, who were awarded the Challenge Cup by Joe Teape, Director of Finance.
Accepting the trophy on behalf of the team, Alex Jack, Physiotherapist said: “Our second success in the competition was built on two fantastic times of 1 hour 19 minutes posted by Mike Wilsmore and Jake Hughes. Mike is the current South of England Champion at 1,500 meters and previous record holder at the Olympic Stadium.
“Will Hawling completed his first half marathon in excellent time, as did Helen Blundell who recently completed the Barcelona Marathon raising money for Hexworthy Ward.
“The whole Physiotherapy Department are extremely proud of our runners. We would like to know how many times do we have to win the competition before we can keep the cup!”
Marking the Physiotherapists success, Joe Teape, Director of Finance said: “As a participant myself, I would like to offer congratulations to the Physio Team, who were certainly worthy winners this year. The whole team ran a remarkable time and the trophy might have found a home for the foreseeable future. Their great team spirit is evident, and they should take great pride in their success.”
