Our Ironman Challenge for Comic Relief was a resounding success, with the school raising around £2,000 for the celebrated charity.
Staff and students came together to take on a challenging Ironman relay, with staff completing gruelling distances in cycling, running and swimming. The energy and team spirit were palpable, both within the school and throughout the weekend, as everyone got behind the challenge. Students cycled and ran multiple miles throughout the week before the staff picked up the baton at the weekend.
Our cyclists, led by Ms Pigdon, completed 114miles with a thigh-burning 10354ft of ascent under 12 hours. Mr Spriggs and his team of runners covered 26.2 miles – three runners completed the whole marathon, while others joined in for sections along the route. They finished it in 5 hours 31 minutes (including 30 mins of stops).
The swimming team led by Ms Ledger had pledged to swim 13 miles collectively; however, they smashed this distance with 29.7 miles being swum.
A huge thank you to all those who supported, whether through generous donations or encouraging comments – your support made all the difference in helping everyone achieve such a fantastic result for Comic Relief!
Ms Pigdon noted: “Our staff comic relief challenge was an inspiring example of teamwork and our schools core value of resilience! It was fantastic to see our staff leading by example, showing our students that perseverance and camaraderie can help overcome even the toughest challenges.”
Mr Spriggs said: “14 members of staff took part [in the run] and from the very first step to the last, everyone played an important part. Some ran further than they thought they would, and one ran their very first marathon. It was the perfect day for it, everyone was all smiles and laughter, mostly, and it was a fantastic team effort!”
Learning Support Teaching Assistant Penny Short ran her first marathon distance. She said: “Never has something so challenging been so enjoyable with such a wonderful atmosphere. I am so proud to have been part of the William Howard team!”
Ms Ledger commented: “It was a wonderful way to spend the weekend. Although members of the team had pledged to complete a particular number of lengths, they just kept going beyond their targets.”
There’s still time to donate to the appeal for Comic Relief if you can, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/whs-staff-ironman-relay
A message to William Howard School from Kevin Sinfield MBE
Kevin Sinfield (MBE) is an English rugby union coach. He is a former professional rugby league player for Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain. He won 26 caps for England, which he captained, and 14 caps for Great Britain.
Since retirement he has also become a prominent fundraiser for charities associated with motor neurone disease. In November 2020, Sinfield announced that he would be running seven marathons in seven days to raise £77,777 for ex-Leeds teammate Rob Burrow, who had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) a year earlier, as well as the MND Association. By the time that he finished his seventh marathon on 7 December, more than £1.2 million had been raised. The following day, the total raised had surpassed £2 million. Sadly, Rob Burrow passed away from MND in 2024.
Kevin continues to take on endurance running and is on his sixth challenge and has to date raised £10 million pounds for Motor Neurone Disease.
