A CAKE sale helped give a boost to fundraisers who are taking on the Dorchester marathon.

Six people at Magna Housing, based in Dorchester, are entering the event, with three taking on the full distance and three the half.

They've chosen Weldmar Hospicecare as their charity.

Sales of the tasty treats managed to raise £78 which will be added to the total sponsorship so far of nearly £400.

Matt Smith, head of fundraising for Weldmar Hospicecare, said: “We are extremely grateful to all the Magna runners who have chosen us as their charity this year.

“As an independent local charity we need to raise £10 every minute of every day to continue our care across Dorset. People like the Magna runners ensure that we are able to be there for patients in the future, for which we are extremely grateful.

“We wish them all the best of luck for their fantastic challenge.”

Catriona Fountain, head of communication for Magna, is one of those running the marathon.

She said: “We support the communities we are based in through our work and this is another way of doing it in addition to our work.

"We’ve done quite well with our sponsorship so far but we wanted to give our fundraising a last little push now that there is less than a month to go.”

Catriona added: “This is my first ever marathon so I’m quite excited, but I’m also quite nervous.

“We’re thrilled that so many people have supported us so far through sponsorship, but it’d be great if people living locally could come out on the day to cheer us on.

“It’s really spurred me on during my training runs when people wave or shout ‘well done’, so it’d be really great to see lots of people as we run.”

The marathon, which was masterminded by Casterbridge Rotary Club, takes place on Sunday, May 28 and takes in a route to the east of Dorchester, going through a number of villages including West Stafford, Woodsford, Tincleton, Briantspuddle and Puddletown. The half marathon follows a similar route but cuts though Puddletown Forest before joining the full marathon again at Puddletown.

If you want to sponsor the Magna team go to their Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/MagnaRunners