Marathon team raise £10k for local NHS

The brother and sister from the Stewartry led a group of 35 charity heroes around the Amsterdam Marathon in memory of their mother in October.

The friends and family of Cecile Becks-Phelps launched their Born to Run cause to take part in the city’s marathon festival, and had hoped to raise £3000 for Dumfries and Galloway Health Board. But thanks to generous locals and supporters all over the world, the group smashed their target and raised £10,709.89.

Son Fin and daughter Millie wanted to mark the tenth anniversary of their Dutch mother’s passing with a momentous achievement to match the remarkable work she did every day in her role as a midwife. Cecile was a huge advocate of natural birthing, and the pair were determined to support the cause she was so dedicated to.

Millie said: “Mum had always dreamed of running a marathon. She was passionate about supporting and enabling women to give birth with as little medical intervention as possible and cared deeply that they and their partners had the best possible experience.

“It’s lovely to know that all our hard work and training is going to help support other mum’s make positive choices about their birthing and continue the work that our Mum, and NHS Dumfries and Galloway’s Maternity have worked so hard on.”

Fin added: “Born to Run would just like to thank everyone who has contributed in any way to the success of the group, whether it was donating, running, or supporting. Without the help of everyone who came together, we wouldn’t have achieved the success we have.

“NHS Dumfries and Galloway Maternity Service currently has the highest level of natural birth rate in Scotland and we know that, had mum still been with us, she would have been passionately involved in the service developments that have resulted in this.”