RYEDALE runners have taken part in the Virtual Great North Run to celebrate what would have been the 40th staging of the half marathon.

Instead of running from Newcastle to South Shields, runners around the world created their own route on September 13 and raised thousands of pounds for charities close to their heart.

Beth Rose, from Pickering, completed the half marathon in support of York Against Cancer.

She decided to continue with her fundraising efforts by planning a route of 13.1 miles from Wilton to Aislaby and finishing on Middleton Road, in Pickering.

She finished with a time of two hours and 32 minutes – raising more than £2,235.

“York Against Cancer means a great deal to me personally as my mum, Fiona, lives with bowel cancer,” said Beth.

“The charity has been a great support to my family over the past few years, so I am really grateful to be able to give something back.”

A University of York academic, Simon Sweeney, who lives in Sheriff Hutton, completed the half marathon and raised more than £1,000 for St Leonard’s Hospice.

Simon, who has finished the race 18 times, ran from Sheriff Hutton to Strensall, then Flaxton and back home again.

“Entirely funded by donations, St Leonard’s Hospice provides a wonderful service to the people of York,” said Simon.

“Frankly, during the coronavirus pandemic, the care sector has been poorly treated and poorly protected by the government. They deserve all the help they can get.”

David Chase, 57, who lives in Ampleforth, completed the half marathon in memory of his wife, Joyce Chase, who died of a brain tumour, aged 49.

David finished the route from Ampleforth to Hovingham in two hours and 13 minutes and raised more than £3,000 for Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity.

“Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under the age of 40, yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease,” said David.