Kineton teacher raises £900 for charity as he finishes Birmingham Half Marathon

Kineton Primary Teacher Dean Sanderson at the finish of the Birmingham Half Marathon

Dean Sanderson, the maths coordinator and year six teacher at Kineton Primary School, completed the race in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 6 seconds.

Mr Sanderson said: “The event was just amazing, lots of cheering and luckily the rain stopped as I started the run.

“The course was shortened by a mile due to security fears around Cannon Park, which I am gutted about, but totally understand. I was on for a 1 hour 44 minute finish time if it was the full course.”

“I have already signed up for the Warwick Half Marathon in March 2020 - fingers crossed it also won’t be shortened. “

Mr Sanderson ran the half marathon for multiple reasons, which included honouring his father, Stuart, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma eight years ago.

Mr Sanderson said: “After chemotherapy, radiotherapy and sheer determination, he beat the terrible disease. What an inspirational person.”

Mr Sanderson also ran the race as a fundraiser setting up an online Just Giving page to benefit Macmillan Cancer Support. He nearly doubled his fundraising target of £500 by raising £900.

But Mr Sanderson’s fundraising challenge was also about raising awareness on the importance of keeping healthy and fit

He said: “This year, in six months I’ve lost seven stone and need to keep going, just like my father did.”

He also serves as the safeguarding leader for the school where he started the new cross country running club.

Mr Sanderson added: “The cross-country club is set up for children to get fitter, healthier and help them to enjoy exercise more.

“I currently run 50 kilometres (30 miles) a week on roads and in my garage on a treadmill.”

He also raised £300 for Cancer Research UK, earlier this year through the Race for Life as he ran from his Fenny Compton home to the primary school in a pink tutu.

Mr Sanderson added: “I ran the half marathon as I wanted to help inspire the children of Kineton Primary to become more active and healthy, in my view the best way is to lead by example.”