AROUND 68 employees from RWE npower’s office in Swindon put their best fundraising feet forward in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support when they took part in a fun run challenge.

Now in its sixth year, the Swindon 10km challenge has gone from strength to strength and this year has raised £1,705 for Macmillan, which npower pledges to match pound for pound, taking the grand total to £3,410.

The fundraising route began within the office grounds after a warm-up, then onto Lydiard Park with each runner completing 13,200 steps to raise funds for the charity. The grounds around the site and park were transformed for the race, with volunteer marshals and first aiders helping to ensure the runners safety as they made their way around the 10km course.

Winner of the run was emissions control engineer, Niall Moroney, who completed the 10km distance in 37 minutes 30 seconds with Stephanie McMullan, the first woman to cross the finishing line at 48 minutes 15 seconds.

Stephanie said: “It was a tough race but thanks have to go out to my colleagues for chasing me all the way - I’m so proud to be the first lady home. Most of us know someone who has, or has lost someone to cancer and running this race is a great way of giving something back to help support the great work that Macmillan do.”

Melanie Failes, Senior Partnership Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “On behalf of everyone at Macmillan I would like to say a huge thank you to all those that took part in the Swindon 10k run - £3,410 is an incredible achievement and will make a massive difference to the lives of people living with cancer across the UK. The support shown by fantastic npower employees who have given their time, money and passion has meant we are one step closer to helping to ensure that no one faces cancer alone."

Macmillan have been npower’s charity partner for over 12 years and during this time, has given over £7 million to help over 29,000 families by providing them with support such as emergency energy grants or writing off their debt.

Last month, npower announced its commitment for an extra £3m over the next three years to the npower Macmillan Fund to help people living with cancer keep warm without the worry. npower’s Macmillan Fund, formerly the Fuel Management Programme, is the only programme in the UK that offers bespoke support to people living with cancer by capping energy bills and writing off debt.

If you or someone you know has been affected by cancer and would like more details on the partnership’s npower Macmillan Fund, call the Macmillan Support Line free on 0808 808 0000 (Monday-Friday, 9am-8pm). Alternatively, if you would like more information on what npower does to support Macmillan, please visit npower.com/Macmillan