Gayle Hulland, a former Devon Ladies Singles and mixed doubles champion began her fundraising and awareness campaign on Monday, September 19, by bringing tennis to the children at All Saints Pre-School in Church Road.

Gayle Hulland, a former Devon Ladies Singles and mixed doubles champion began her fundraising and awareness campaign on Monday, September 19, by bringing tennis to the children at All Saints Pre-School in Church Road.

Gayle said: “As the Tennis Development Officer at Exeter Tennis Centre, I am looking at ways to link my passion for tennis with my marathon challenge. The visits at the schools is a great way for me to teach children some new skills as well as raising awareness of the charity. Who knows, I may even discover a budding young tennis player at the same time!”

Exmouth’s own 18 year old Oskar Wynne, who has been a performance player with the Tennis Centre since 2004 and now works as a Tennis apprentice, also gave up his own time to assist Gayle.

Helena Meineck: “The children just love bat and ball games and it’s so good for their co-ordination and social skills. Gayle told me about her mission to run in the London Marathon, so we both thought that the Tennis for Toddlers would be a good way of spreading awareness within the local community and giving the children this special treat which they highly deserve. In fact the children enjoyed themselves so much that they have asked if Gayle can come back again. A big thankyou to our parents as we have already managed to raise �40.”

To support Gayle in her quest to raise money for Bowel and Cancer Research and to run the London Marathon please text code GHLM79 followed by your sponsorship amount to 70070 or visit the website at www.justgiving.com/GayleHullandMarathon