Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Who are we?

My name is Matt, and I am an IT professional working in the healthcare technology sector, helping solve the problems experienced by the NHS and healthcare organisations every day using the latest technologies available.

My wife, Becky, is a nursery practitioner helping to give children the best start in their educational lives, especially those with additional needs.

What are we doing?

After spending a year training to run in the Great Manchester Run 10K in May 2023, we finished the race and then immediately signed up to the Half Marathon event in 2024.

This will be our first attempt at a Half Marathon race.

Why are we doing it?

Working in the healthcare sector over the last year has helped me to see some of the overwhelming challenges faced by the NHS, and how attempts have been made to try and overcome them. Sometimes those attempts result in significant costs in terms of money and resources, which could be put to good use saving peoples lives. We are also both bikers ourselves, and supporting our fellow bikers in doing something which I also support in my professional life is a no brainer.

Who are we running for?

The North West Blood Bikers cover the Lancashire and Lake District areas and provide a zero cost courier service to the NHS to transport vital life saving equipment, test samples, donor breast milk and documents between healthcare settings in the evenings, weekends and bank holidays when the NHS's own courier service does not operate.

The alternative is for the NHS to send items between hospitals using things like taxis, which during bank holiday periods can create significant costs. The Blood Bikers operate out of hours all year round, regardless of the weather, even using their own cars when it isn't safe to ride a motorbike. The service relies entirely on volunteers.

Imagine getting a call at 11pm on Christmas day when it's cold and wet outside to transport test samples between 2 hospitals. That is the kind of service that the Blood Bikers provide and they do so at absolutely zero cost to the NHS.

By May this year, the NWBB had already saved the NHS hospitals in their area over £300K in costs. All that money can be reinvested into improving patient care.

As bikers ourselves, we fully appreciate the dedication that goes into providing this service, and it all happens behind the scenes. As a patient, you might never even realise that their service was involved when you receive treatment.

This is our opportunity to give something back.

What are we asking?

The 13.1 mile run is equivalent to a little over 21,000 meters. This is around about 20,000 steps. We are asking you to help us raise just 5p per step for a sum of £1000.

For every £1 that NWBB spends, the benefit to the NHS can be up to 10-fold, so this target could have a benefit value of up to £10,000 for our healthcare services. Not a bad value at all.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and secure. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. It's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.