Our Night Strider event is one that's as good for your health as it is for charity.
Last year saw 1,000 people take to the streets for the first Night Strider, our sponsored half marathon and 10k event that lit up Sheffield, raising more than £100,000 for our care.
On Saturday 8 October, Night Strider – sponsored by Gripple - will be back, with the aim of seeing more people than ever before taking part and raising even more money than last year. And joining the walkers for a second time will be a team headed by Joanne Elsey, of weight loss organisation Slimming World.
Joanne, who lives in Dore, runs Slimming World groups in Totley and Low Edges and persuaded some of her members to join the first Night Strider and raise more than £1,000.
“Walking is one of the best things you can do for health and fitness and as a supporter of St Luke’s I thought this was a fantastic way to get everybody involved,” she says.
Last year Joanne put together a team of ten who completed the full half marathon route – and she was delighted to discover that her Slimming World walkers have now been chosen to star in the second Night Strider’s city wide poster campaign.
“It was such good fun that I knew straight away we’d be wanting to do it again this year, hopefully with even more Slimming World members joining us,” Joanne says.
“It probably took between three and four hours to complete the whole thing but we all really enjoyed it.
“Of course it’s raising money for charity but there are other benefits too because it gets us all together in a different environment and this level of exercise is great for losing weight!
“Some of the hills along the way were a bit of a surprise to us but we all managed to get round – it’s a lovely route really and it’s great to see Sheffield in the dark.”
If you run a local weight loss group or are a member of one, why not get a team together for this year's Night Strider and set a fundraising target as well as a weight loss goal? For more information on how we can support you with your fundraising please email us or call 0114 235 7554.
Registration for Night Strider 2016 is open now, click here to sign up your team.