Two Sheffield Hallam University colleagues have completed a 60-mile ultra-marathon run to raise money towards improving the children’s outdoor space at a new community nursery.

Press contact: Laura Burden | l.s.burden@shu.ac.uk 

Sally Pearse, strategic lead for early years at South Yorkshire Futures and Fufy Demissie, senior lecturer and coordinator in early years education, ran 60 miles between them on Saturday (1 May).

They took on the challenge to raise money to develop the outdoor play area at the newly opened Meadows Nursery – a partnership between Sheffield Hallam University, Watercliffe Meadow School, Save the Children UK and Sheffield City Council.

The pair have raised £1500 so far and hope to raise an additional £500 to help transform the outdoor area of the nursery into one that will provide ample learning and development opportunities for children in the community.

The distance ran by the pair is of great significance as it represents one mile for every month of the first five years of life – the most important stage of development and learning. 

Sally Pearse, said: "The opportunities for learning and development outdoors for young children are endless and we want the new nursery environment to reflect this. Fufy and I took on this challenge as we thought showing how much we appreciate being outdoors would be a good representation of the value or outdoor play. We finished the run exhausted but with a fantastic sense of achievement and had amazing support from colleagues, family and friends who joined us at various points." 

The team is hoping to use the money raised to collaborate with a Sheffield Hallam Lab4Living research project team who recently designed and installed a first of its kind energy harnessing playground in India.

Undergraduate early childhood studies and architecture students at the University have also been collaborating to submit designs for the outdoor space at the nursery, based on learned theories of early years learning and play and architectural design. The brief offers an opportunity to work on a real-life project, considering issues such as budget and timeframes.

The recently opened Early Years Community Research Centre (EYCRC), based at Watercliffe Meadow School, is providing up to 40 full-time nursery places for children aged two to five in the Shirecliffe area of Sheffield. 

The Centre will also be a hub for innovative early years learning, bringing together academic research capacity, community-focused education and care, and expert knowledge from the children’s charity sector.

The new nursery has largely been funded through a £345,000 grant from the Department for Education’s School Nurseries Capital Fund, but this funding only covered upgrades inside the building.

All sponsorship donations can be made on their Just Giving page.