Oxford News
Ultramarathoner raises £5,000 by racing through Sahara
Lesley Malloch, a PE teacher at Marlborough School in Woodstock, took on the challenge in the Sahara Desert.
She completed the legendary Marathon des Sables, a seven-day ultramarathon across the Sahara, raising £5,600 for Oxford Hospitals Charity and SeeSaw Grief Support.
Ms Malloch said: “This race was brilliant and brutal in equal measure – but I had the most incredible experience.
“I fundraised for Seesaw when I ran my very first marathon in 2017, and later helped to raise money for the Oxford Children’s Hospital during our ‘Big Gethin Run’.”
“Their impact is real, lasting, and close to home. Most importantly, fundraising £5,600 for two charities that mean so much made every step worthwhile.
“Knowing it will help young people and families through difficult times kept me going.”
Known as one of the toughest footraces on earth, the Marathon des Sables covers sand dunes and rocky terrain.
Runners must carry all their food, kit, and survival essentials on their backs.
Ms Malloch dedicated her challenge to Gethin and Zak, two former students at Marlborough School, and trained specifically for the punishing desert environment.
She said: “It’s not just about pounding the pavement; it’s about conditioning my body to run on sand, training with a weighted pack, and preparing for the brutal heat.
“I met incredible people along the way who helped me through the toughest moments, and I’m so grateful for the support that got me to the start line ready, and to everyone who cheered me on.”
Claire Hughes from Oxford Hospitals Charity congratulated Ms Malloch on her achievement.
She said: “Huge congratulations to Lesley – we’re in awe of her amazing achievement and incredibly grateful for the outstanding amount she has raised for both charities.”
Liv Webster, communications officer at SeeSaw Grief Support, also praised Ms Malloch for raising both funds and awareness.
She said: “Lesley has not only taken on an immense personal challenge by raising incredible funds and awareness, she has also made a real difference for bereaved children and young people across Oxfordshire.
“We are so grateful to Lesley for going above and beyond to ensure that families in our community receive the support they need, when they need it most.”
Ms Malloch described the experience as life-changing.
She added: “This is an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The Prime Minister is prepared to “explore every option” to keep Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers in jail, a Government source told the Telegraph on Friday.
The Government has so far resisted pressure to exempt the two killers from its early release scheme, which starts in October in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding.
Mr Burnham said earlier this week he had “pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing” by excluding sentences for “rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences” from eligibility.
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Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after the exemptions announced as part of an urgent review of the scheme.
But under current plans, Cole and Bowers remain eligible to be freed halfway through their 13-year sentences after they were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 following Pc Harper’s death in 2019.
Downing Street has been contacted for comment about Mr Burnham reportedly weighing up options to block their release.
PC Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019.
He died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary.
The driver of the vehicle, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and would not be eligible for release.
Dame Mary Berry has lived in Henley‑on‑Thames, Oxfordshire, with her husband Paul Hunnings since 2019.
She joined the BBC show as a judge alongside Paul Hollywood when it launched back in 2010 and stayed until 2016, before the programme moved to Channel 4.
Now, the 91‑year‑old food writer and presenter has been discussing work on the garden at her Henley home during an appearance on the Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast.
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Dame Mary explained that she and Mr Hunnings had decided to buy larger yew trees rather than wait years for smaller plants to grow.
The former Great British Bake Off judge said: “Evergreens, a yew is, we put hedges in a yew. And obviously you should buy evergreens like a yew. I suppose about two foot high and wait.”
Dame Mary then made clear why waiting was not a realistic option for her.
“Well, I’ll be in heaven then, so we had to buy them fairly big, I suppose they were about four foot because we needed them to get to the top of the tennis court netting,” she said.
The TV star and her husband moved to Henley to be closer to family after downsizing from their former home in Buckinghamshire.
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In a previous interview, Dame Mary said of her decision to move: “We didn’t want to move too far from our friends, and Henley is only a 35-minute drive.”
She added: “The town is beautiful. It has the river, and there are lots of interesting walks to do. As the years go, we will be able to walk into the town, and it will be nice to not have to get the car out.”
Dame Mary remains a familiar face on television and has continued to share her love of gardening as well as cooking.
Speaking at the Hay Festival earlier this year, she encouraged young people to “work hard and follow your dreams”.
Her garden in Henley includes a greenhouse, pond, beds and roses, while she has said she grows produce including red onions, lettuce and carrots.
Fire services were dispatched to Cowley Road just before 6pm yesterday evening to tackle the blaze.
Photos show the fire behind residential gardens, with black smoke billowing high.
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At least two fire engines were dispatched to the scene with multiple firefighters working to put out the blaze.
Photos sent to this newspaper show fire engines moving into position and the blaze itself seen from behind a garden.
It’s currently not known how the fire started or its exact location.
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has been contacted for more information.
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