With the October sun shining down on the historic coastal town of Scarborough, four local Fire Fighters and one ‘plucky’ older man, set off on a journey thatwould see them run 10 km along the seafront of the renowned seaside town dressed head to toe in full fire fighting uniform, including bright yellow helmets.
The group, made up of four of North Yorkshire’s finest Fire Fighters and honorary Fire Fighter for the day Gary Molloy, (aka Park Leisure’s Managing Director), who all gave up their valuable time to raise money for a young boy from Hull named Charlie Hook and his worthwhile appeal.
Charlie is only five and has already been through more than most people will in a lifetime, having unfortunately developed a rare form of childhood cancer that sees him have to endure weeks of intensive tests and procedures every month just to give him a fighting
chance.
Even with this course of current treatment, Charlie has an 80% chance of relapsing. If this happens, the treatment he will then require is expensive and not available UK. And it’s for this reason the Charlie Hook Appeal was founded with the target of raising £300,000 that will allow him travel to America for intensive treatment.
Gary commented:
“It’s a funny feeling running that kind of distance in full fire fighting kit. Not only did we get some very funny looks from the crowd and fellow runners, but the kits were so heavy
that we had to work doubly hard. Not surprisingly we were drenched when we finished.”
On his participation Gary continued
“I was so touched when I heard of young Charlie’s appeal and what the lads were planning to do to raise the much needed money that
I decided to make a donation on behalf of Park Leisure. On learning more I decided to volunteer my services in a hope to add a bit of weight behind the guys’ efforts by running with them and encouraging our staff and suppliers to donate too. I’m delighted to that my efforts worked, adding a whopping £1,500 to the fund.”
The team completed the 10 km together in a very respectable 1 hour 9 minutes, and received the biggest cheer from the gathering crowds when they crossed the finish line.
