The Sian Reeds Run 2023

On Thursday 30th November, our Uniformed Protective Services staff and students set out to run a collective distance of 500 miles, in memory of our late student Sian Reeds.

Sian sadly passed away on 30th November 2020 from DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) which is a type of brain tumour, so running on the 3rd anniversary of her passing was hugely poignant.

The team were raising awareness of this aggressive type of brain tumour and aimed to raise as much money as possible for the Chestnut Tree House Children's Hospice, which provides care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions in Sussex and Southeast Hampshire. This is a charity very close to the hearts of Sian’s family.

To date, they have nearly raised £1000, which is an incredible achievement.

To put 500 miles into perspective, this is the direct distance from City of Portsmouth College Sixth Form Campus to Basel, Switzerland!

Battling against near-freezing but dry conditions, over 70 staff and students ran a collective 547 miles, around the 1-mile route of Great Salterns field.

All competitors chose varying running lengths to reach the target.

Sophie Kingsley-Cabell, teacher of Uniformed Protective Services and Sport, said “It was amazing to see so many students attend, despite the very cold conditions.”

The competitors consisted of current students, ex-students (including some of Sian's classmates) and also students and staff from the LDD/SEND and Personal Training departments.

Everyone showed amazing determination and resilience throughout and the UPS staff are so very proud of everyone involved.

A final massive thank you goes to Dawn Evans (Caterlink), who kindly donated food and drink for our staff and students to keep them going in the very cold conditions.

​​If you feel you would like to personally support the hard and worthy work of Chesnut Tree House, you can find Sian's family’s Just Giving page HERE.