Ashley Powell

Middlewich Fire's Manchester Half Marathon

Fundraising for Manchester Foundation Trust Charity
£1,310
raised of £1,000 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Event: Great Manchester Run Half Marathon 2017, on 28 May 2017
Participants: Paul Leigh Ashley Powell
We support treatment, research and care to make our hospitals even better

Story


Two Firefighters from Middlewich Fire Station are going the extra mile for charity as they prepare to take on the Great Manchester Run Half Marathon in three-stone worth of fire kit.
Full time Emergency Medical Technician and On Call Firefighter Ashley Powell and Fulltime Firefighter Paul Leigh from Middlewich will be putting their fitness to the test as they run the 13.1 mile course in helmet and tunic, complete with a breathing cylinder on their backs, to raise money for the North West and North Wales Transportation Service (NWTS) And due to events on 22/5/2017 at the Manchester Arena 50% of donations will be given to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital to assist in the victims recovery.


NWTS, which was formed in November 2010, is a team of Paediatric Intensive Care doctors and nurses who stabilise and transport very ill children, who have already been admitted to their local hospital, to specialist children’s hospitals including the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. The service’s two modified ambulances require specialist equipment suitable for the treatment and transfer of very young infants, each individual piece of equipment costing tens of thousands of pounds.
Ashley and Paul have chosen to fundraise for NWTS in support of their colleague Kristian Clowes as the service saved the life of his young daughter, Poppy. Kris’s daughter was born with heart problems but thanks to the incredible service from NWTS the team managed to keep her alive throughout her transfer to hospital.

Ashley comments: “I’ve ran the 10k six times before, and always in full kit. Last year we also carried the ladder, which made it even more difficult! The uniform is very, very warm and we have to make sure we drink a lot of water – you can wring out the jackets afterwards with the sweat. We fill our pockets with water so we can stay hydrated on the way round.
“We love doing the 10k run as it’s a fantastic atmosphere, with all Manchester roads closed off and dedicated to the run, it is great to run with the iconic buildings and scenery.”
Paul adds: “As a Liverpool fan I always run a little bit faster past Old Trafford! We always do a sprint finish at the end on Deansgate and stick together so we are both finishing at the same time.
“We wanted to step up our game a little bit this year, and with it being the first Half Marathon we were excited to try it – it is also a double whammy because we can support Kris and NWTS, when the half marathon distance gets tough we will think of why we are doing this which will keep us going.”

Lucy Naylor, Events Manager at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity comments: “Ashley and Paul have certainly set themselves a challenge with this run; it’s demanding enough taking on a half marathon, never mind whilst wearing a full fire kit! It’s a lovely gesture that they have chosen to support NWTS in support of their colleague. The NWTS service is absolutely vital in transporting extremely poorly children from across the whole of the North West and North Wales. Their fundraising will make a valuable contribution in ensuring the service can be the best it possibly can be.”

Share this story

Help Ashley Powell

Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations

You can also help by sharing this link on

About the charity

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Charity works hard to make a difficult time a little bit easier for young and old at our family of nine hospitals. Supporting: Manchester Royal Infirmary | Wythenshawe Hospital | Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital | Manchester Royal Eye Hospital | Saint Mary’s Hospital | Manchester University Dental Hospital | Withington Community Hospital | Trafford General Hospital | Altrincham Hospital | North Manchester General Hospital. We support continuing excellence in treatment, care and research.

Donation summary

Total raised
£1,310.00
+ £61.25 Gift Aid
Online donations
£245.00
Offline donations
£1,065.00

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.