A group of charity-minded teachers are looking to set an example to pupils by running a marathon for Cancer Research UK.

Two of them, Alice Greer and Liam Woods, completed the Welsh marathon in July, both finishing in under four hours. A further three – Daisy Weston, Caroline Goddard and Mark Norman – are preparing to run the Nottingham marathon at the end of September.

All are teachers at Saffron Walden County High School.

“It’s been pretty tough at times,” said assistant headteacher Mark Norman, “but we’ve been really encouraged by all the support we’ve been receiving.

“For most of us it’s the first marathon we’ve done and it’s quite a daunting distance but knowing that we’re running to raise money for such an important charity spurs us on.”

The team has been training over a number of months, fitting in runs after school.

English teacher Caroline Goddard said: “It has sometimes been difficult to fit training around work but we’ve been motivated by the whole school community.

“It’s been inspiring to read the comments left by people donating.”

Year achievement coordinator Daisy Weston added: “Although we’re getting a bit anxious, we’re also looking forward to the actual marathon. We’ve done a lot of training and it’ll be exciting to run alongside so many other people.”

So far the teachers have raised over £1,500 and are hoping to raise a lot more over the coming weeks.

“As teachers, we spend a lot of time encouraging the students to be resilient and to take on new challenges, so we felt it was only fair that we did something challenging ourselves,” said maths teacher Liam Woods. “We certainly need a lot of resilience!”.

To donate to the marathon teachers, virginmoneygiving.com/team/Swchs.