Veteran marathon man Ray Matthews gets support from Clowne Road Runners

Veteran marathon-runner Ray Matthews received worthy support from the Clowne Road Runners club as he continued his remarkable challenge for charity to mark his 75th birthday.
RAY OF SUNSHINE -- veteran Ray Matthews, supported by friends, at the start of his latest marathon.RAY OF SUNSHINE -- veteran Ray Matthews, supported by friends, at the start of his latest marathon.
RAY OF SUNSHINE -- veteran Ray Matthews, supported by friends, at the start of his latest marathon.

Matthews is attempting to run 75 marathons in 75 days to raise £75,000 for Newman School in Whiston, which is a specialist school catering for the needs of children, aged five to 16, who are physically disabled. The money will go towards the fitting of a new, rubber-coated playground for the youngsters.

Matthews launched his challenge in a blaze of publicity on Sunday, July 3. And as he tackled his ninth marathon, he was delighted to get help and backing from members of the Clowne club and also their families throughout the day.

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Meanwhile Clowne claimed top spot at the annual Derwent River Relays event, thanks to their Red Devils team comprising Jordan Street, Lewis Banton, Dan Page and Darren King. The quartet finished first overall and won the senior men’s category in a combined time of 69 minutes.

Another Clowne team, the Red Rockets (Pete Twigg, Jordan Street, Louise Lowe and Sarah Attwood) finished fourth overall and took first prize in the senior mixed category with a time of 76 minutes, 41 seconds.

The Red Dragons (David Hazelton, Chris Lane, Richard Hind and Darren King) finished in 80.38, followed by the Red Roses (Jackie Robson, Sam Coleclough, Michelle Needham and Karen Shipman) in 94.10, the Red Arrows (Paul Sadler, Greg Goddard, Andrea Walker and SJ Hodson) in 99.16, the Red Poppies (Gemma Hind, Lynn Hazelton, Holly Page and Louise Lowe) in 109.01, and the Red Robins (Dave Keeling, Julie Keeling, John Proffitt and Liz Close) also in 109.01.

Elsewhere, another Clowne runner, Nick Fowler, clocked a new personal-best time of 18 minutes, 43 seconds in the latest Rother Valley parkrun.