27 September 2022

Colleagues swap checkout lines for the finish line

Three co-operative colleagues put their running shoes on this weekend raising money for Southampton Hospital Charity.

For Dean Millar, Store Manager at The Co-operative Food - Southampton High Street, this was his first half marathon and run in memory of his dad.

Dean completed the 13.1 mile course in nearly two hours and his colleague Diego Galusni, Store Manager at the Southern Co-op store in Lyndhurst completed it around 20 minutes later.

Their Area Manager, Dan Haynes, also ran in the Winchester Marafun completing the 10k run. All three of them have been raising funding for the Southampton Hospital Charity.

Dean said: "I sprinted down the finish. I feel fit but I'm 56 years old. I didn't have any pain when I was running, it was only when I stopped. 13 miles was tough and I never stopped once. It was an amazing accomplishment."

Dean ran in memory of his father Alex who he was unable to visit before he died last year where he lived in Spain due to restrictions from the pandemic.

Dean said: "I ran over the finish line and looked up to the sky. Everyone at the finish line was banging pans and cheering you on. It was an amazing feeling.

"All of my three children were born at Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton so this is a cause close to my heart."

The Winchester Half Marathon or The Winchester Hilly 10k takes in landmarks such as St Catherine's Hill, Winchester Cathedral and King Alfred the Great.

Diego said: "It was an amazing and painful experience. As I said to Dean when I agreed to run, I'm not a runner, I've never done it before. The only reason I signed up for it was to support this incredible charity.

"When I got to eight miles I genuinely thought about stopping, as my legs were hurting from my recently injury. I had to keep reminding myself why I was doing it, and certainly has help me to finish the race. It was a pleasure take part in this event."

A total of £170 has been raised so far for Southampton Hospital Charityhelps to enhance the care and treatment of patients at University Hospital Southampton.

Daniel Haynes​, Area Manager, said: "I signed up for the half but due to regular break downs in training due to a historic injury the charity supported me in dropping down to a 10K.

"I then dutifully trained in what spare time I had however I totally overlooked the word ‘hilly' within the title - the surprise as I turned the corner and saw the never-ending steep hill in front of me nearly resulted in an about turn but I had the charity and my own fan club of my wife and daughter cheering me on so I dug in and got the job done."

To find out more about Dean's fundraising, visithttps://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dean-Millar7. Or for more information on Southern Co-op and how it supports local good causes, visithttps://southern.coop/how-we-do-it/community.