Twenty-five remarkable runners who took part in the London Marathon to raise money for The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital have been celebrated.

A special reception, hosted by trust chairman Frank Collins and deputy chief executive and director of nursing Bev Tabernacle, was held at the Oswestry-based hospital to honour the fundraisers who took part in the race in April.

Four of the runners were the Orthopaedic members of staff, while 21 were members of the public who wanted to raise funds for the specialist hospital.

Frank, a former marathon runner himself, said: “Running a marathon is an enormous personal achievement, and on behalf of the Trust I want to say a huge thank you to you all.

“Money is still coming in and being totalled up but we’re confident our runners have collectively raised a figure of around £50,000.

“All money raised will go into our wider charitable funds post, which is used to support projects across the hospital.”

Staff who ran the marathon for the Orthopaedic included Louis McDonald, project manager; Victoria Hall, assistant practitioner; Ashling Donohoe-Harrison, radiography support worker; and Ben Carter, inpatient booking clerk.

Louis, who ran in the marathon in 4:16:00, said: “This my third marathon and I was hoping for a personal best time of around 3 hours 50 minutes; however the record breaking heat did stop me achieving that.

“The streets of London were buzzing and the crowds were simply amazing from start to finish.”

Victoria, who crossed the finish line at 5:05:16, said: “I loved the whole experience; it was extremely hard-going in the heat but also absolutely incredible.

“I’m so glad I was able to raise funds for the Orthopaedic – as a member of staff here in the Pre-Operative Assessment department it just made sense.”

Bev added: “I’m so impressed with how the team managed to run 26 miles on what was the hottest London Marathon on record.

“We are delighted that so many members of the public, and staff members, decided to raise funds for the Orthopaedic so a huge thank you to each and every one of them.”

the Orthopaedic are now looking for runners willing to support and take part in the 2019 London Marathon.

There are around 26 charity places available and anyone interested can find an application form and more information on the dedicated marathon section of the Trust website at - https://www.the Orthopaedic .nhs.uk/marathon.