Back in 1985 I was lucky enough to survive the fire that killed 56 people in Bradford City's football ground. Out of that disaster some good had to come. One of the greatest and lasting benefits was the creation of the Burns Research Unit at the University of Bradford. The Unit relies on charitable donations for its continuing excellent work. I want to be part of Bradford City Football Club's target of raising £100,000 for the Unit before the 25th anniversary of the fire on May 11th 2010.

In the past I've raised over £2,000 for the Unit from sales of my book 'Four Minutes to Hell - The Story of the Bradford City Fire'. Copies can still be obtained from me (paulfirth@blueyonder.co.uk) for those interested.

This time I'm using my feet in an effort to raise more money. At the ripe old age of 58, mad as it sounds, I'm going to take part in a 10k run for the first time in my life. The City of Salford 10k takes place on Sunday September 27th 2009. I've never run that far at one go, but I'm determined to finish. I'd dearly love to finish in under an hour. So I'm looking for sponsors who are willing to give me two incentives. If I take over the hour, I only want half the money! I shall be wearing a timing chip, so there's no chance of my cheating! UPDATE - my official 'chip time' was 59 minutes 40 seconds. Phew!

This is a world leading research programme. We all hope none of us actually ever needs it, but you just never know. Please support me and my aging legs to help reach that £100,000 target.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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So please dig deep and donate now.