Well done to #TeamWarwickUni on a great race, the 120 runners associated with Warwick shone like beacons among the thousands of runners taking part in the Two Castles Run!

The group, wearing bright orange T-shirts, has so far collected £9,650 to raise funds and awareness of cancer research, research into premature birth and research by Warwick into recurrent miscarriage.
Among the university team were runners taking part on behalf of the Grace Research Fund which supports research into the causes of premature births and the best forms of neonatal care at the University Hospital and the University of Warwick who raised £2,500 for the Coventry and Warwickshire-based charity.

#TeamWarwickUni was the third fastest team overall thanks to the speedy running of its fastest four runners – Phil Gaydon, Samik Datta, Nathaniel Tkacz and Cara Smith.

Gareth Owen, Warwick, completed his debut in the 10km course in 64 minutes to raise £500 for the Grace Research Fund, he said:

I was slightly disappointed with my time. It is a hard uphill course but the scenery is beautiful and it is good not to run in one big circle. I was banking on it being downhill from Warwick Castle but that wasn’t the case. Everywhere you seemed to look there was a sea of bright orange T-shirts. It was great to see and a lot of people had turned out to support us from the university.

“The Grace Research Fund is a great local charity which is focused on its mission to support research which I think is really important. If you are going to try to find a treatment, research underpins everything.
“Warwick Medical School is important to the University and is very involved in the local community. The Grace Research Fund is the sort of charity I wanted to run for because it works locally, but supports research that fundamentally makes a difference to people’s lives around the world.”

Still wearing their orange T-shirts, the runners went from the finishing line at Kenilworth Castle to the home of Dr Andy Coe, consultant paediatrician at University Hospital, for a celebratory drink.
He said:

It has become a tradition that we invite everyone who has taken part in the Two Castles Run to raise money for the Grace Research Fund for a drink at our home afterwards to say thank you. We really appreciate all the training and fundraising the runners do on behalf of the Grace Research Fund and it is a good chance to chat about the event – and catch their breath back!”