MORE than 40 employees from energy provider npower’s Worcester office gave a power-packed performance as they completed a 5k fun run that raised £1,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The route began in the office grounds in Bridgwater Road and after a warm-up, along the Worcester-Birmingham canal with each runner completing 6,600 steps to raise funds for the charity. Students from Aspire Academy marshalled the run and pointed the way for any lost souls. Over the past few years, npower has been supporting the Academy, which works in partnership with schools and local organisations to support all young people in the area to achieve their potential.

Among the enthusiastic fund raisers were a variety of fancy dressers including Adam Stokes, dressed as "Zippy", who won the highest fundraiser prize, raising £281. He explained: “The charity is close to my heart having lost my nan a few years ago to cancer. Most of us know someone who has, or has lost someone to cancer and this is a way of making a personal impact on future treatments and care."

Winner was Daniel Belbeck, who completed the race in 20 minutes 49.5 seconds with Alex Poyser the first woman to cross the finishing line in 26 minutes 2 seconds.

One of the event organisers, Julie Middleton, community site lead for Worcester, said: “The fun run was a huge success. All of the employees at Worcester are dedicated to supporting our local community and Macmillan Cancer Support has supported many of our people, so the fun run is our chance to give a little back.”

Mel Failes, senior partnership manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, added: "A huge well done and thank you to the team at Worcester for doing such a fantastic job for Macmillan Cancer Support. Those thousands of steps you’ve run and the pounds you’ve raised will take Macmillan a step closer to ensuing that no one has to face cancer alone.

“This challenge is just another example of how our partnership has gone from strength to strength over the last 11 years. Through fundraising and sharing our organisations’ expertise, npower and Macmillan has been able to help thousands of people affected by cancer out of fuel poverty.”