ABP Southampton Marathon raises over £2,000 for Communicare

A total of £2,131 will help Communicare in its aim to eradicate loneliness.

The runners, which included three generations from the same family, took part in the 10km and half marathon races on April 7.

Annie Clewlow, manager at Communicare, said: "This is such a wonderful amount of money to be raised by our Communicare running team and, this year, we also had a record number of runners, 14, wearing our t-shirts or sashes too.

"This gave us some wonderful exposure, raising much needed awareness for us in the city too.

"Everyone did a fantastic job and we’re so proud of them for completing their various races and for choosing to help us."

She congratulated the charity’s runners including Ali Fisher and Kevin Sawers, who completed the half marathon, husband and wife team Adrian and Debs Robinson, as well as Adrian’s parents Brian and Ruth and their son Joshua.

Ms Clewlow added: "The money and awareness raised by these wonderful runners will go a long way to furthering the work we do to help vulnerable and isolated individuals in Southampton.

“It was also great to see two of our human sized Communibears there – Adrian was in one suit taking part and our Coordinator & Office Supervisor, Bryony Sawers was in the other suit cheering our team on and lending a paw in support on the day too.

"We’d like to thank everyone who entered for us and came along to show their support too. We’ve already had a few people say they are signing up again for us next year as they had such a great time.”

Based in Southampton, Communicare is a neighbourhood charity dedicated to making a difference in the lives of isolated people in and around the city.

Currently supporting more than 700 individuals and families, the charity provides free services and supports clients through tasks such as befriending, transport for appointments and assistance with shopping.