Bridgnorth Aluminium team heads to Athens for annual marathon and 10K

A Bridgnorth mother and daughter will be among a team of 15 colleagues representing their employer at this year's Athens Marathon and 10K races.

Kerry Cox, a production operator at Bridgnorth Aluminium, is taking on the 10K alongside her daughter Abbey Baldwin, a former apprentice at the company, who will run the full marathon.

The firm has funded places for employees at the annual event for more than 15 years, bringing together runners of different abilities and experience.

Four members of this year's team will tackle the full 26.2-mile marathon, with the remaining 11 taking part in the 10K.

Team leader Elliott Lynch, the company's learning and development partner, will run the marathon for the fifth consecutive year, despite dealing with a significant injury during training.

The race follows the historic route from the town of Marathon into Athens, finishing at the Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

Elliott said: “We're all really excited for it now, having been in training for some time and it is always a proud moment to represent Bridgnorth Aluminium alongside other companies in the Viohalco group.”

Other marathon runners include Sean Whelan, who also represents Bridgnorth Running Club, and Jonathon Morgan, who is stepping up to the distance after completing his first 10K.

Several members of the team will be making their racing debut, including Julie Mortimer, Luke Kilvert, Ronan Minatel de Godoy, Nikolina Austin and Ian Vinall.

Elliott said the team included everyone from experienced marathon runners to people who had never taken part in a race before.

“We'll all be there to help each other along and the main thing is to enjoy it,” he said.

“It is about representing the company and embracing the event, and hopefully it'll keep those first timers running and inspire other colleagues to get their running shoes on.”