THREE colleagues have been put through their paces to raise £1,000 for a hospice by completing the London Marathon.

Mark Colling, Wendy Colling and Linda Noble recently completed the 26.2mile run as part of the St Teresa's Hospice Silver Anniversary Marathons Challenge.

The fundraising scheme, which hopes to recruit 25 runners to raise £250 each by running a marathon, marks the Darlington hospice's 25th anniversary.

The trio, who all work at Capita, undertook a 16-week training schedule in preparation for the event after hearing about the challenge through an email.

Ms Noble, who has taken part in the London Marathon five times, completed the event in 3hrs, 18mins and 31secs, while Mr Colling and Ms Colling both clocked in at just over 4hrs and 20mins.

Mr Colling, who ran 500 miles over the course of the training, said: "Training started on January 1, which meant no fun on New Year's Eve."

The hospice has 15 runners signed up and is looking for the final ten. Anyone interested in taking part can call supporter services on 01325-254321.