Hinckley man gets set to take on the London Marathon to boost the coffers of charity

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 09/02/2017


A Central England Co-operative colleague is set to swap his work boots for his running shoes as he gets ready to take on the London Marathon to raise money for a charity that helps disabled children.

Chris Page, who works as a Project Delivery Manager for the Society, will join thousands of other runners as part of the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, 23 April.

The 35-year-old hopes to raise over £2,500 for The Society’s corporate charity Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children.

Chris, who lives in Hinckley, Leicestershire, said: “I decided to take on this challenge because I really wanted to do something for charity and Newlife is such a great cause. I always liked the idea of testing myself physically and it doesn’t come much tougher than a marathon.

“This if the first time I have attempted something like this but I am competing in the Adidas Silverstone half marathon in March as part of my training.

“All of my training is going pretty much to plan. The most training I’ve done in one week is 60 miles. The longest single run I have managed is 20 miles in 2 hours 40 minutes. This was around 30,000 steps and 3,500 calories burnt.

“My training programme peaks at 22 miles on the 27 March. My total training miles will be around 700.

“I would ask people to sponsor me because firstly it’s such a great cause and secondly because of the amount of blood, sweat and tears I’ve been through training.”

Chris will be joined in his efforts by fellow Central England Co-operative colleague Customer Service Assistant Jamie Gilliver.

Newlife is dedicated to providing information and practical support for children with disabilities and their families.

Although Newlife is a national charity, every penny raised by Central England Co-operative is helping children in the Midlands.

The link-up between The Co-op and Newlife has already raised over £1.2 million so far.

Newlife fund-raising manager Nora Smith said: “Newlife Head of Community Fundraising and Appeals Nora Smith said: “To have two Central England Co-operative colleagues running the London Marathon in aid of Newlife is fantastic and we wish them the best of luck.

“Their combined support will make a significant impact on the lives of local disabled and terminally ill children in the Central England Co-operative trading area by providing vital equipment which will make a huge difference to their everyday life.”

Anyone who would like to support Chris can do by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ChrisPage2017

Notes to editors

Picture caption: Central England Co-operative Project Deliver Manager Chris Page is getting set to run the London Marathon in aid of Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children.


About Central England Co-operative
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.
Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop