There are few people in Derwentside who do not know someone who has been cared for by Willow Burn.
Every time I visit the site I am humbled by what they achieve with the limited resources they have. My company, Elddis Transport, started supporting Willow Burn in July 2007 with our trucking4willowburn project which has raised over £150,000 since it started. This has been both through direct sponsorship from Elddis Transport and more importantly the support and fundraising of the Elddis staff, something that I am very proud of and makes it all worthwhile.
What I hope to raise
Every penny I raise will go to Willow Burn, all of the race entries have been paid for by myself and Elddis Transport have assisted in some of the travelling expenses (have you ever tried to get a flight to Tromso!). The first 10 races raised £23,000, start saving up I will be doing this for charity again near the end.
Will I win any of the races?
I do have the body of an athlete, unfortunately it is a Russian Shot Putter, therefore I will not be competing with the token Ethiopian Entrants that seem to turn up at every race. I do not race, I run, I rarely walk. I have managed to run every yard of the last 2 half marathons, and hope to do the same in the next 10. Putting in perspective, however, if you asked said Ethiopian Athletes to carry an extra 7 or 8 stone around the course, I may have a chance. Is there a need for a handicap system similar to horse racing?
