'I would walk six thousand miles.....'

Staff and students at the University of Wolverhampton have clocked up almost 6,000 miles as a 70th birthday gift to the NHS.

People were encouraged to run, walk and swim as part of the national #NHS1000MilesChallenge to mark 70 years of the NHS.

The final total of 5,979 miles was announced at a special birthday party at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park yesterday (Thursday).

The first 52.4 miles was donated by Professor of Sports Psychology Andy Lane, who completed the Boston Marathon on 16 April and a week later went on to do the London Marathon.

Other staff and students logged their miles while walking their dogs, horse riding, running, taking part in spinning classes and Nordic walking.

The University’s Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, which offers courses such as nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy and paramedic science, supported the initiative as part of its celebrations for the NHS anniversary.

Dr Alexandra Hopkins, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, said: “We were thrilled with our total of almost 6,000 miles as our aim was to get people active and collect around 1,000 miles. People really got on board with the challenge and it was a great way to celebrate the 70th birthday of our NHS.

“Everyone has personal experience of the NHS and the fantastic people who work there. As a University, we have numerous staff members who are former NHS workers and we have close working relationships with our partner Trusts which provide essential work placements for our students – who go on to become valued employees.

“This was our way of saying ‘happy birthday and thank you’ to the NHS while getting active at the same time.”

Staff and students used the hashtag #WLV1000miles to share their achievements on social media.

Representatives from across the University who were involved in the challenge include:

• Academics, Professors and administration staff from across the Faculties.
• Students from across the University.
• Estates Management and Facilities.
• Facilities and Support Services.
• Quality and Collaboration Unit.
• The Careers and Enterprise.
• Dean of Students.
• External Relations.
• TNE Programmes Administrator, Student Transnational and Research (STaR) Office.
• Human Resources Business Partner.