Two CWC Performing Arts students recently completed the Vitality Run Hackney, a half marathon through East London. Kai Wright and Diogo Domingos who study the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Performing Arts, joined Run Dem Crew following a talk given by Ellie Wood, Director for Bring the Change at CWC in November last year where students were encouraged to sign up for the running club.

With over 13,000 runners, the Hackney half marathon celebrated its third year in 2015, and is one of the top ten half marathons in the country. The route takes runners through a number of Hackney’s open green spaces and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

“This is my second half marathon so I had an idea of how difficult it was going to be, but I got a personal best of 1 hour 55 minutes, so I was pleased with that,” said Kai Wright. “Run Dem Crew are all very supportive and it’s more like a family than a running group. I’ve been in situations where I’ve been running with someone I don’t know and by the end of it I know their life story and they’ve offered me some great opportunities.”

Diogo Domingos added, “I wasn’t really worried about getting a good time, I just wanted to be with the crew and enjoy myself and I did. I was smiling the whole time and we were all supporting each other so I found it a lot easier than I thought, maybe because I was enjoying it so much! We had a big group of people who came and cheered us on and it really helped to motivate me for the final section of the run.”