Blog

Under the Stars supports Sheffield 10K

23rd October 2024

Sheffield 10k, you were awesome!

The 2024 Sheffield 10k was our fourth time as an organisation fielding a team of runners and walkers. And what a team! One of our learners Nick made his walking debut, three generations of one family entered to spur each other on, and our drama practitioner Steve fundraised over £1000 to help our work. And the others? Well, they were marvelous too.

The day started with a team photo in the sunshine outside the Lyceum. Our smiles attracted the Sheffield Star reporters to come and do a little pre-race interview, which Cathy completely smashed! A little pre-event number finding chaos meant the race started slightly late, but by the time the throngs of thousands set off up Arundel Gate they quickly got their smiles on, and their adrenaline pumping.

The support on the course from Sheffielders and beyond was amazing. Lots of jelly babies and water to take care of our athletes, and believe me some of us needed it!

The final stretch of the race was the opportunity for our learner Cathy and her dad to join in. As our only wheelchair user, her hot wheels and enthusiasm were welcome boosts to the team effort. There’s something magic about crossing that line after all that effort. The faces of our runners, walkers and wheelers says it all! A brilliant mixture of pride, happiness, and relief.

Waiting to meet our running superstars at the finish was Ruth Parrott, our Managing Director. Ruth is a champion cheerleader for the whole team and greeted everyone with a massive smile, a big “well done!” and a few tears!

“I am blown away by our incredible team of runners/walkers,” she said. “I am so grateful to everyone who ran on our behalf, and really touched by all the stories and reasons why people wanted to run for Under the Stars.”

Our runner Alex had this to say:

"The Sheffield 10k is a truly exhilarating experience and I think everyone should give it go at least once. It doesn't matter what your ability is or what your time is, it's just great to take part in such a huge fundraising event. Most of the runners have their own deeply personal motivations and collectively we're addressing so many causes that are all worthy of support. 

My shoelace came undone near the end and I opted to keep running as I thought my muscles would seize up if I stopped. This was a risky strategy that I don't recommend but I managed to get over the line without falling over! I saw SWFC legend Carlton Palmer at the finish line and grabbed a selfie as a reward. 

I'm very grateful for the Under the Stars staff who organised everything and came out to cheer on the runners. It gives all our team a big boost."

None of this would have happened without the organisational skills of Julia Waldron, our Development Manager. She’s the prime mover for the event (though we did wonder if it was an elaborate plan to motivate herself back into running after a year out!) and she worked really hard to make sure that everyone was dressed in the Under the Stars t-shirts, places were registered and sponsorship efforts were well supported. And the grand total…a huge £4.5k. Magnificent work all!

Ruth was keen to stress, “I’m immensely proud of our team and really pleased with all the incredible support we've received, and we’re massively grateful to every single person who sponsored us. We’re really keen to find a fabulous corporate sponsor for our 2025 team, and we’d love to welcome some more team members to join us.

Please do get in touch if you’d like to be part of our amazing ambitions to be even bigger and better in 2025!

Under the Stars Team Awards:

Speedy Gonzales Award – Al Dalton (44 minutes!!)

Never Give Up Award – Julia Waldron

Sprint Finish Award – Grace Woolhouse

Power Walk Award – Catherine

Most Improved Award – Miranda Woolhosue

Newbie Award – Annabel Woolhouse

Fab Fundraiser Award – Steven Givnan

Hell For Leather Award – Alex Deadman

Most Laid Back Award – Chris Morris

Most Positive Award – Kate Shipway