Running for Neston
- rachael6372
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
You may remember our Social Prescriber Steph taking part in the London marathon in 2024 (you can read the blog here - Good luck Stephanie!).
Well, the running bug really got her and Steph has continued to take part in races across the country since then.
Recognising the benefits of running Steph has been encouraging the staff team to get active and has supported our hospital discharge coordinator Kathryn to get involved, with them both completing the Wirral 10k in October 2025.
Not one to miss an opportunity and wanting to support Steph and Kathryn on their running journey, our chief executive Rachael spoke to them about raising money for NCYC through taking part in races. Luckily they were both on board and enthusiastic about the opportunity!
Steph and Kathryn have written the following about their running journeys:
Over the last 12 months, we have worked closely together in our working roles at NCYC supporting the community with hospital discharge support and social prescribing. Personally, we have developed a lovely friendship outside of being work colleagues supporting and pushing each other to new limits and achievements in the world of running.
As we head into the new Spring season, it offers time to reflect on upcoming events and the first two months of 2026. This coming Spring Kathryn will be running the Chester 10k and London Landmarks half marathon, Stephanie will be running the Chester 10k, half marathon and finishing with the full 26.2-mile marathon in the Autumn. We are collectively raising funds for NCYC. The funds raised will hopefully be used to create welcome boxes for people leaving hospital, including practical essentials and small comforts to remind them they’re not alone, as well as funding the Young Voices of Neston group to bring more youth events to Neston for other young people.
Kathryn - Last May, I decided to begin a wellness journey to improve both my fitness and my mental health. Feeling overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life, I needed something that would help me breathe more easily, think more clearly, and feel stronger. With the encouragement and support of Steph, our social prescriber, who believed in me before I believed in myself, I downloaded the Couch to 5K app, and I haven’t stopped running since. Running has become my outlet to improved mental wellbeing, offering me space for a quieter mind, focusing only on my breathing and movement of my feet. It has reinforced for me how important it is to look after our mental, emotional and physical health.
Stephanie – I have been actively running since the end of 2023, becoming a London Marathon finisher in 2024 in the trenches of grief. Becoming a marathon finisher at such a vulnerable time in my personal life taught me the power and importance of showing up for yourself, even when you don’t feel like it and when faced with adversity. Since then, I have saw firsthand meeting and working alongside Kathryn how our own journeys can inspire others and what good things can be achieved when we surround ourselves with encouraging peers and take control of our own well-being.
In both of our roles, we work with individuals who may be in their most vulnerable time, whether that is coming out of hospital or being brave enough to reach out for help. From our own running journeys, we have built our own resilience and confidence, showing up when it's hard, when you lack motivation and, in our case when the weather is against you. This is something we try to instil in our clients through our roles at NCYC.
The one message we have jointly taken away from running is progress doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. Sometimes it’s simply about showing up, even when it’s hard. We hope sharing our own experience helps inspire others to find their own outlet to feel this too.
NCYC are incredibly grateful to Kathryn and Steph and their commitment to us and wish them all the luck in the world with the upcoming races!
How can you help?
There are many ways you can support NCYC with its fundraising efforts:
Make a donation to Kathryn and Steph by clicking the links below:
Kathryn - https://www.justgiving.com/page/kathryn-mccloud-ncyc?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020
Steph - https://www.justgiving.com/page/steph-stazicker-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020
Promote their justgiving pages
Attend fundraising events
Take part in running events with NCYC as your chosen Charity to fundraise for
NCYC is now registered with Run For Charity, providing us with access to hundreds of running events across the world.
If you are interested in taking part in races across the world to raise money for us please get in touch: Rachael@nestoncyc.org.uk
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