Mental health nurse Bryan Grome has taken to pounding the streets to raise money for causes close to his heart. He completed the Edinburgh marathon and as a result was able to hand over £1,000 to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, where his son has been receiving treatment for the last few years for a rare bone condition.
Five months later he was taking part in the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow, in memory of his grandfather and his wife’s grandmother, who were both struck down with Alzheimers Disease. He’s now collecting his sponsorship money for Alzheimers Scotland.
His next fundraiser is for Macmillan Cancer and he’s busy training for the 2014 Edinburgh Marathon Festival where he will be competing in the 5k, 10k and half marathon. Three colleagues from Ward 5 at Forth Valley Royal Hospital will join him in a relay for the full marathon.
Bryan, who has joined an athletics club in Linlithgow and also runs on his own, covers up to 40 miles a week in training before the big events. He says he wants to give something back for the treatment his son and relatives have received. The most exercise he’s ever done before was playing football but an added benefit to his new running regime has been dropping a shed-load of weight!
Another colleague who has completed the Great North Run is June Croll, Business Manager at Airthrey Park Medical Centre, University of Stirling.
At the start of 2013 June set her self a challenge to train for and complete the Edinburgh Marathon.
Along with her fitness buddy Lynne Murphy (a Staff Nurse at NHS Tayside) and despite a serous knee injury, she has achieved her goal and gone on to complete eight more marathons and half marathons all over the UK.
These have included the St Andrews 10k, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon, the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon and, most recently, the Great North Run.
June explained: “After I injured my knee I was advised not to run, but having made the commitment to these races I knew I had to go on. Yes, my knee is causing me lots of problems but our Osteopath (Back2Life) and acupuncturist Pascal DaSilva here at the Medical Centre help keep me going – along with a lot of taping!”
As a nod to her beloved westie Miss Darcey, June has also used each event to help raise money for the Guide Dog Association.
