Hockey players swapped their sticks for running shoes when students from a WNAT school in West Walton took part in a charity 5K to raise around £2,500 for their chosen cause.

The annual Marshland High School Pink Ladies event saw 28 members of the school’s Pink Ladies and Mixed Hockey Squads lace up their running shoes for the King’s Lynn Park Run on 2 July, in support of the Fenland Women’s Refuge.

The school’s Head of PE, Paul Swinburn, took part alongside the students, and was delighted with their determination and hard-won results.

“We spoke earlier in the morning, pre-run, about how they could target the finish – run to win, all the way, to run-walk to survive,” he said. “More than half beat me with ease. Others didn’t, but all persevered and dug in.

“The thing is, the 5K run is alien to games players, as we don’t just run for five kilometres continuously – we sprint, rest, jog, walk, sprint again. It’s such a different fitness type, but all found a way around, and their big, beaming faces told me how much it meant to them to make such a difference to ones less fortunate than themselves.

“We talked about how sports people can do lots for themselves, in terms of joining clubs for exercise and enjoyment, but also that we can pull together as squads and make a difference to others.”

It was the twelfth time the Marshland Pink Ladies fundraiser had taken place, with a total of more than £27,000 donated to different causes over the years.

Mr Swinburn continued: “The good will and ‘Go on, Pink Ladies’, ‘Well done, Marshland’, and even the odd ‘Keep going, Mr Swinburn’, was great to hear all the way round from the crowd and fellow runners. I even heard someone saying, ‘Yeah, they always do it, they do it for different charities, nice kids’ et cetera.

“Some had sporting fixtures – dance and swimming – later in the day. One child has done all five runs since she has been here, contributing loads to the £27,000-plus we have raised since we started it 11 years ago.”

Previous causes supported by the hockey players at Marshland have included Angles Theatre, the Pelicans Hockey Club, food banks, and a former student with leukaemia.

Mr Swinburn added: “This charity is one we have served before, and we found out about it through a dedicated teacher at our school, Mrs Debi Benson. It is a charity that is local and supports days out for under-privileged families, amongst other things.

“It is a privilege for me to run with these kids and make a difference. The self-efficacy and feeling of pride resonates, but the actual thing of providing for others in need has no age limits.

“I have heard from past pupils who still fundraise today through this experience.”