Volunteers go the extra mile

Three brave volunteers from Treloar’s donned their running vests and trainers to pound the pavements in Brighton last weekend.

Stephan Hansen, 20, Ben Schloesser, 19, and Bijan Marfels, also 19, arrived at Treloar’s from Germany in early September, to take part in a year-long voluntary programme.

It was only a matter of months before they decided to undertake the gruelling 26-mile challenge.

Bijan said: “We came up with the idea to run the marathon a few months after we got here.

“We didn’t have something to do outwith Treloar’s here, so it gave us something to focus on.”

Bijan last year ran the Hamburg Marathon in a time of four hours and 15 minutes, but hoped to shave at least a quarter of an hour off the time. He in fact managed to do even better, completing the race in time of three hours and 41 minutes.

Meanwhile, Ben and Stefan – who had never attempted any marathon before – finished in four hours and 16 minutes, and three hours and 30 minutes respectively.

They trained for months on end in a bid to get fit for the marathon, using the physio room at Treloar School in their spare time, before venturing outside for training when the better weather arrived.

Ben added the goal for them is to become fit, but at the same time raise lots of money for Treloar’s.

“It’s a great experience to be here at Treloar’s and we are glad to be able to give something back.”

The trio raised almost £500 for Treloar's, a fantastic achievement!