Opus Energy runs the New York Marathon – 4th November

As part of Opus Energy’s pledge to raise £10,000 for the NSPCC, Opus Energy offered two lucky employees the opportunity for an all expenses paid trip to New York to take part in the world famous marathon.

The New York City Marathon is one of the world's great road races, drawing more than 90,000 applicants. The race attracts both world-class professional athletes and fun runners alike.

In exchange for this amazing opportunity participants had to be committed to raising £1,500 for the NSPCC. We had an amazing response but the lucky winners were Mo Fillmore, PA to the Managing Director and Penny Beard, Credit Control

Both successfully completed the marathon and superseded fundraising expectations by raising over £3,500.

Mo, who works as a PA at Opus Energy’s headquarters in Oxford, has completed three marathons before but said this was by far the toughest. However, despite the harsh weather conditions she still managed to beat her personal best time and completed the course in 4 hours and 38 minutes.

“The day before the race was freezing cold and incredibly windy,” said Mo, “I’d done a lot of training but halfway through the marathon I wasn’t where I wanted to be time-wise. I gave myself a good talking to and somehow manage to find some energy from somewhere and shaved 15 seconds off my personal best.

“The crowd definitely helped - they were amazing. It was definitely worth it as it’s such a great cause and I’ve made monthly donations to the charity for as long as I can remember”.

For Penny, a Credit Controller at Opus Energy’s Northampton office, it was her first marathon and therefore quite an experience for her.

“It was all very emotional. No-one tells you how tough the New York Marathon is because they don’t want to disparage you, but the pavements are very hard and it is surprisingly hilly too. I am relieved it is over but it’s for a very good cause. I’m a step-mother so I can understand how important the work of the NSPCC is.”

Jenni Cowlishaw, NSPCC Community Corporate Manager, said: “I would like to thank Penny and Mo for completing the marathon for the NSPCC as it took a lot of hard work and dedication from them both. It is arguably the hardest marathon to tackle and they both did a fantastic job and raised much-needed money for the charity.

For 2008 Opus Energy are planning to offer this opportunity to two other running enthusiasts, come back soon to see who the lucky winners are.