WALFINCH home care franchisee Ian Thompson has raised more than £500 for the Royal Osteoporosis Society by running the Edinburgh Half Marathon.
His run is part of the operator’s campaign to raise £10,000 to help fund the charity’s work, including osteoporosis research, awareness, prevention and treatment.
“I was proud to run for ROS, partly because some of our care clients have osteoporosis, and I have seen the toll it can take on peoples’ health,” said Ian.
“Half of women and 20 per cent of men over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. It’s one of the reasons that many older people are taken to hospital, and complications resulting from fractures can be the beginning of a downhill health spiral.
“Anything that we can do to reduce these numbers is valuable.”
Ian, who is the franchisee managing director at Walfinch Welwyn and Bishops Stortford, added: “I ran the course in three hours 33 minutes – a personal best – and I was delighted with the sponsorship I got from our Walfinch staff, other Walfinch franchisees and my family and friends.”
Ian started running about six years ago, and normally does six miles several times a week. He plans to do at least one more marathon for ROS in the next year.
“My ambition is to get my time below three hours 30 minutes,” he said.
Walfinch partnered with ROS because exercise is one of the ways to achieve better bone health.