Claire sets sights on running challenge for Alzheimer’s Society

Post on 9th March 2016

A keen runner from Stoke has set her sights on a challenging 41 mile cross country trail run this weekend to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s Society.

Claire Connolly, aged 38, a regional manager’s assistant with Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care, will join 200 participants in The Millennium Way ultra-marathon from Newport to Burton on Trent on Sunday 6 March.

It is the biggest distance she has ever attempted and she’ll have to navigate muddy fields, stiles and fences along the way. Claire, who lives in Kidsgrove, explained: “I wanted to do something special for Alzheimer’s Society because it is the Scrivens’ charity of the year and because it’s a cause close to my heart. I lost my nan in December last year to Alzheimer’s.”

Her grandmother, June Prince, was 86 and from Audley.

Claire, who is a member of the Stoke FIT, Friends in Training, Running Club, said: “I just want to raise as much money as possible; I have not set a target. I ran the London Marathon in 2011 but I have never attempted 41 miles before. It is a challenge but I have 12 hours to complete it and I have been in training.”

Her focus will then be on running the Potters Arf Marathon on 12 June and the Potteries Marathon on 3 July, both in aid of Alzheimer’s Society.

Anyone who wants to sponsor Claire can visit www.justgiving.com/ClaireConnolly3103/

Scrivens is supporting Alzheimer’s Society in 2016 after raising £12,700 last year. Branches and individual staff have embraced the cause by coming up with inventive fundraising ideas.

Alzheimer’s Society is the leading support and research charity in the UK for people with dementia and those who care for them. The charity estimates 23 million people have a close friend or family with dementia.

Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care was founded in 1938 and has 178 stores in England and Wales, with 1,000 employees.