Stagecoach West run for us

On 7th August, a dedicated team of eight Stagecoach West colleagues laced up their trainers to walk and run part of the 94-bus route from Gloucester to Cheltenham and back – a whopping 8.2miles each direction – in aid of Age UK Gloucestershire.

Swapping bus fares and timetables for running shoes and energy gels, the team raised a grand total of £1,140!

The 94-bus route is one of the busiest operated by Stagecoach, connecting Gloucester to Longlevens to Churdown to Benhall (and GCHQ) to Cheltenham. In total four colleagues ran the route in both directions, with one person running the route one way, and three people walking the route there and back over the course of the day.

Stagecoach has partnered with Age UK nationally as its charity partner, and it encourages people of all ages to be active as this helps significantly in old age. One of the team, Louise Bryce said: 

“I loved taking part in the event and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who kindly sponsored us. It was a fantastic opportunity for colleagues to come together and raise money for an incredibly worthy cause. To make sure we were prepared, we have been running 5K each week on a Thursday afternoon around Gloucester for the past 12 months.  We knew that increasing the distance from 5K to 28K would be a leap, but we have gradually increased our running and walking  distance over the past few months to ensure we were ready. We’re all thrilled to have completed the challenge and we’re already planning our next fundraiser for next year.” 

Stagecoach West Managing Director, Chris Hanson said:

“It’s wonderful to see colleagues coming together to help raise money locally for Age UK Gloucestershire, and to raise more than £1000 is simply fantastic. I’m so proud of my colleagues for this incredible effort. The fundraising also underpins our values as a bus operator because we understand the importance of our buses in the community – particularly those who are older - in helping to make them feel connected. Put simply, a bus service is a vital lifeline to bring people together and we want our customers to know that we’ve got you when it comes to reliable and safe public transport.”