Running to change lives

Jane Hughes spends her professional life helping to deliver courses that change people's lives, so when she had the chance to run the London Marathon, she wanted to run for Shaw Trust, a charity who help others do exactly that.

She is already familiar with the work of national charity Shaw Trust which helps disabled and disadvantaged people find work and live independent lives.

Jane from the village of West Hougham near Dover, already works closely with the trust in her role as South East Regional Performance Manager for UFI Ltd/ Learn Direct, which funds providers to run its courses in basic maths, English and IT skills.

"Shaw Trust was an obvious choice for me, I manage two contracts for them and so I know a lot about they way the Trust works and how it can help people.

"I've seen how people progress over two or three months which is really great and I've met a lot of trust staff. The charity does a really great job," she added.

A regular runner for the last six years, this will be 40 year old Jane's second London Marathon and she is being accompanied on the April 13th event by friends and fellow villagers Nikki Stokes, 36, and Daran Wilkins, 41, who are aiming to raise money for London charity Ability Bow and Careline, respectively.

"We've all got to raise £1,250 each and sponsorship is going fine. Even though I did the marathon last year and had a lot of support last year, I'm still getting support from the same people which is really nice," said Jane, who is married to Mark and has a son, Owen, aged six.

Funds have been boosted still further by a successful race night held in the village hall, which brought in about £650.

The aim is to complete the marathon in under five hours and all three have been training three to four nights a week and every weekend in everything the elements can throw at them.

"Last year the weather was horrendous, it was so hot - apparently the hottest London Marathon ever and I didn't perform very well so I decided I'd give it another try and here I am."

To sponsor Jane telephone 01304 210399 or log on to www.justgiving.com/janehughes1

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. For further details, please contact Communications PR Officer Becky Gammon on 07779 784901. Or you can email: crucialpr@shaw-trust.org.uk

2. Shaw Trust is a national charity, formed in 1982, which helps people with disability or disadvantage to find work and achieve independence. We do this not only by delivering government programmes, but also through our own self-funded initiatives, and by campaigning to change attitudes at all levels.

3. Across the UK more than 1,200 staff now oversee a diverse range of more than 200 projects.