A TEAM of six runners raised thousands of pounds for charity by taking part in a half marathon.

The team ran on behalf of Forest YMCA in Forest Road, Walthamstow, in the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon on Sunday.

Simon Farmbrough, resident support and accommodation manager at the charity, completed the course in 1 hour and 46 minutes.

He said: "I was a bit nervous beforehand and was looking forward to getting the run over with.

"However I enjoyed the run and it was a great day for it. I had a lot of support which helped a great deal and the run didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would."

The team are on target to raise £3,000 for the charity which will go towards the refurbishment of the hostel.

Mr Farmbrough added: "I wanted to raise as much as I could and my target was £320. However, I have managed to raise £730 so far which will go a long way to refurbishing a room."

Emma Cornish, fundraising officer at the charity said: "We are incredibly proud of our amazing runners who are on target to raise £3,000 as a team.

"The money they raise in sponsorship will go towards the vital refurbishment of our main hostel, which will allow us to provide a better service and support more young homeless people than ever before."

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