A medical secretary will be running the Great North Run to raise money for NHS Charities Together, which supports patients and staff across the country.
Sarah Parker, who has worked for the NHS for 21 years, works at the Poplar child and adolescent mental health services ward at Rochford Hospital. The ward is run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT).
Sarah will be turning 50 this year and has set herself some fitness challenges while raising money for charity at the same time.
She is currently training for the Great North Run in September, the largest half marathon in the world.
NHS Charities Together works with a network of more than 220 NHS charities across the country to improve access to healthcare, ease pressure on the NHS, and improve healthcare experiences for patients and staff.
The charities include EPUT’s Charitable Funds, which helps to pay for ‘little extras’ that make the care our patients receive that bit more special. This includes therapy gardens and recreational equipment.
Sarah said: “The Great North Run will be my fifth half marathon overall and my third half marathon this year so far, which will be an achievement itself as I have not run more than one half marathon a year until this year.
“I completed one in 2024 and one in 2025 and prior to that I only ran 5km or 10km races.
“My favourite half marathon so far was the London Landmarks half marathon, which I ran in April this year through a charity I often run for called the Carli Lansley Foundation, which provides free ECG screenings for young people to help detect undiagnosed heart conditions.
“There are over 100 of us from the Carli Lansley Foundation who all take on different challenges like running, hiking, wing walks, competing in Ironman events and triathlons in the UK as well as abroad.
“But I am really excited about running the Great North Run in September for NHS Charities Together.”
Sarah also hopes to run a full marathon one day, and would love to do the London Marathon.
Anyone who would like to sponsor Sarah can visit her fundraising page at https://nhscharitiestogether.enthuse.com/pf/sarah-parker