More than 500 people took part in the Rainbow Run at Ridlins Stadium in Stevenage on Sunday, raising more than £20,000 for the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity.
Now in its third year, the Rainbow Run raises funds for projects to support patients, families and staff at four hospitals - Lister in Stevenage, New QEII in Welwyn Garden City, Hertford County, and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood.
This year’s event was officially opened by Stevenage mayor Jim Brown, and charity chair and non-executive director of the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust Dr David Buckle.
As well as members of staff from the NHS trust, runners also included former patients and families who wanted to thank a hospital department for the care they had given.
Emma Gunn, from Hitchin, now living in Langford, took part with her 15-year-old triplets, Seb, Jack and Milo.
Emma said: "It was 16 years ago when I fell pregnant with triplets. The pregnancy was high risk and complex, which meant I had to spend a lot of time at Lister Hospital.
"The care I received was amazing. They looked after me through every hurdle and, as a result, I have three amazing boys.
"I will never be able to repay the kindness and incredible care we all received. We took part in the Rainbow Run to raise money for projects to help other patients and families.
"It was a brilliant day. I had wanted us all to run together as it was my birthday, but my boys are very competitive, so they went off to run their own race. For the sake of peace at home, I’d better not say who won!"
Beth McNeil, head of fundraising at the charity, said: "It gets better each year! Thank you to everyone who took part and made it such a brilliant, fun-filled day.
"We’re thrilled to have raised over £20,000 to support our hospitals. We have raised funds for so many different areas of the hospitals - from the maternity department to the children’s wards, from cancer services to dementia support, we have raised funds for nearly all the areas of the hospital.
"It's been lovely to hear why people wanted to thank a particular department and see everyone supporting our wonderful NHS. We can't wait for next year!"
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here