TWO mums from Bridestowe are making a marathon effort to help raise money for a new playground at their village school.

Sam Wharton and her friend Pippa MacDougall, who both have children at the school, are deep in training in preparation for the Dartmoor Vale Marathon on Sunday, October 17.

The ladies are hoping to raise £1,000 for the project by completing a gruelling 26 mile trek — and for Sam it is the first time she has run such a distance. 

Sam, aged 35 and an IT consultant at Taunton County Hall in Somerset, has taken part in local half marathons this year and a couple of events organised by Okehampton Running Club.

She said: 'We are both part of Friends of Bridestowe Primary school, who do lots of fundraising for the school and have managed to raise nearly £5,000 over the past few years, and we're going to keep going until we reach our target of £15,000 for our new playground.

'The children have been heavily involved in ideas and planning the new playground and can't wait for us to reach our target.'

Pippa, aged 41, is a part-time music teacher at the school and did the prestigious London marathon 10 years ago, but nothing as challenging since.

'We are now both training together at weekends as work commitments mean we struggle during the week,' added Sam.

To support Sam and Pippa, send pledges to the school, or call Sam on 01837 861277.

Friends of Bridestowe Primary School are also holding a fashion show on Thursday, September 23 at Bridestowe Village Hall.