THE Woking-based fitness group Squat2Fit, founded by Kim Valente, raised more than £600 in aid of charity Your Sanctuary, which supports survivors of domestic abuse, at the Surrey Half Marathon on Sunday.

“We did it!” said a delighted Kim. “I’m extremely proud of these ladies. We've been training for the past eight months and some of them are new to running. 

“I have watched them get stronger and fitter week after week and they are such a lovely supportive group. I am lucky to be able to work with such a great community of people.

“We ran as a team, everyone members of Squat2Fit. There were 14 of us in total, three ran the half marathon and 11 of us ran the 5K. 

“As a team, we did well together. Although a few of us were recovering from injuries, including myself, we all finished well. 

“I finished first out of 15 women in my age group, 45-50, and 26th out of 114 women. Seven of my teammates finished in the top 10 of their age groups, with personal bests from Helen Toghill and Joana Guimeres.

“And one of our team members, Siobhan Lipnicki, ran a personal best 1hr 53.40min in the half marathon.

“Most importantly, our team raised £600 for Your Sanctuary with, I hope, more donations to come.”

See the 16 March edition of the News & Mail for a special picture spread of the event – in shops from Thursday.