Staff of Ogiers who are running the Race for Life on Sunday. Picture by Rob Currie

TWO charity races on Sunday have encouraged staff from two different companies to swap their business shoes for trainers.

A total of 48 women from Ogier are running in the Race for Life while eight men from Jersey’s Cable and Wireless company Sure are taking part in the Run for Moore.

The Jersey Run for Moore helps to raise money to support the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, established in memory of the captain of the victorious 1966 England World Cup team who died of bowel cancer aged just 51.

Race for Life is the UK’s largest women only fund-raising event where women everywhere come together to simply walk, jog or run 5k and raise money to help beat cancer.

Ogier Human Resources director Sue May rallied the team of 48 women together.
‘I have always entered every year and wanted to put an HR team together but then decided we should try to make it bigger and ask the whole company,’ she said.

‘I have done the Race for Life in teams before and doing it with people you work with is fantastic. There is such a sense of camaraderie in doing something together.

‘Sadly all 48 of us have been touched by cancer in some way. It is one of those illnesses where you know someone who had it or is suffering with it now. The Ogier partnership paid our registration fees and we hope to raise as much money as possible.’

Meanwhile, Rick Biggs, of Sure, said that neither he nor his colleagues were regular runners but had been training hard for the race. He said that their aim was to raise as much money as possible for the charity.

‘We collected separately at first but decided to put all our money together as a company,’ he said. ‘We are into the hundreds now.’

There are collection boxes in the Sure store in King Street for Islanders to help top up the total.

‘It is a good charity,’ said Mr Biggs. ‘It isn’t a very long run so it is something we can do as a group, which is why we decided to do it as a company.’

On Sunday, hundreds of men and women will be taking part in the charity run from La Frégate to Bel Royal and back.