Ben Rebuck with his medal

Eight runners took part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday, 13 October raising £6000 for Jewish Care.

For two of the runners, Viv Green and Claire Blumenthal, it wasn’t their first time running the half marathon, but it was their best time.

Viv Green, who is an Old Age Psychiatrist and the Chair of Jewish Care’s Dementia Consultative Group, was running her third Royal Parks Half Marathon. She says, “I thought it was a good time to give the race a go again as it’s a lovely one to run. This year, I got a personal best of 2h 2m and 35s, I’m very proud!

I’ve been connected to the dementia consultative group for about 7 years and have worked alongside Jewish Care in my day job for the last 10 years. It’s widely known in the community what a valuable role Jewish Care holds for the vulnerable amongst us and it’s a pleasure to be lending my support to such a great organisation.”

Running her second Royal Parks Half Marathon, Claire Blumenthal, agrees that the support en route made a difference. She says, “I was proud and excited when I spotted other Jewish Care runners and the Jewish Care cheering crew along the race, which gave me an extra boost to achieve my best half marathon time yet.”

The 13.1 mile route took runners alongside the capital’s iconic landmarks and through four of London’s eight Royal Parks – Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.

Toby Hanbury, who ran his first half marathon, said, “It was a phenomenal experience to take part in my first half marathon and it was great to be cheered on by the Jewish Care team. It was tough towards the end, but the high fives and cheering helped me focus on the many vital areas of support that the charity gives to so many vulnerable people in our community.”

For Max Heller, 28, it was his second Royal Parks Half Marathon. Max, who works in investment banking from the USA, participated in Jewish Care’s Lay Leadership Development Programme last year. He says, “The Royal Parks is a great way to see the incredible parks and palaces in London. I’ve always been involved with my community and was inspired to run for Jewish Care after participating in the charity’s Lay Leadership Development Programme. I’ve learned so much about the charity and have met a fantastic group of committed young professionals. I’d definitely recommend taking part.”

Other runners for the Jewish Care team were Joel Brandon, Michael Necati, Ben Rebuck, and Lewis Maleh.

Jewish Care’s Director of Fundraising and Community Engagement, Adam Overlander-Kaye, added, “There was a great atmosphere and it was fantastic to see all of our runners. I’d like to thank them for taking part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon to support Jewish Care.

“Each week 10,000 people in our community rely on our services, many of which receive little or no government funding. These include our specialist day centres for people living with dementia, our social work team and community centres. Our staff work incredibly hard and are dedicated to supporting people to remain active and engaged members of our community, whilst maintaining their dignity and quality of life.

If you would like to find out more and sign up for a challenge please contact  events@jcare.org or on 020 8922 2834.