Bright Horizons Fair Oak Nursery Manager raises over £2,000 for Children’s charity

Clare Ashton, Nursery manager at Bright Horizons Fair Oak Nursery, recently ran the New Forest Marathon despite suffering a significant leg injury during her training. Her efforts saw her complete the 26 miles at New Forest in 5 hours and 33 minutes and raise £2,153 for local charity ‘Doing it for the Kids’, which is based in Southampton.

Clare said: “I love running for mindfulness. It’s brilliant to be outside and a great way to relieve stress. I had only previously done a half marathon so had allowed myself six months to train to do a full one. However, disaster struck early on in my training plan. I tore two tendons in my legs and lost 12 weeks of running time. Despite the setback, I kept going and am delighted that I managed to complete it. My team here at the nursery supported me every step of the way.”

The donations that Clare received for ‘Doing it for the Kids’ inspired her to keep going while she recovered from injury. The charity supports young people with additional needs and their families by supplying care, therapy and specialist equipment. Clare’s team from her Bright Horizons nursery got behind her fundraising efforts and helped her to raise funds through a number of events from cake sales and raffles to sponsored walks.

Clare said: “I want to thank everyone who supported me. It was so pleasing to raise such a wonderful amount for an amazing cause. I can’t thank my nursery team enough for all that they did to help. I couldn’t have done it without them. I did think that the injury might stop me, but thankfully through rest and also physiotherapy, which I was able to access through our employee benefits from work, I managed to do it. It was challenging, but I’m so glad I didn’t give up.”

If you want to be part of an amazing team, then visit the Bright Horizons careers website for more information.