Date: 4th April, 2022
A Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighter will be taking on a half marathon this weekend – running in 20kg of fire kit.
The Richmond Half Marathon, within Kew Gardens on 10 April, is just the first of a series of challenges being undertaken by Crew Manager Dan Fry in aid of the Fire Fighters Charity.
Dan is based with Red Watch at Swindon fire station and, on Saturday 23 April, he’ll be doing a treadmill half marathon at the Asda store on Orbital Shopping Park, Swindon, starting at 11am. There will also be a fire crew and appliance on site to support him!
There may be other races through the summer, before Dan takes on his first ever marathon at London in October – again wearing fire kit and a breathing apparatus set.
Before last year, Dan had never run a half marathon – and he’s still not run a marathon distance! He said: “I took part in last year’s Bristol Half Marathon with a group of other firefighters in fire kit to raise money for the blood cancer charity DKMS, and then did the Bournemouth Half a week later. It was an incredible experience, and gave me the bug to do more.”
Having secured his London Marathon place through the Fire Fighters Charity, Dan decided to do as many challenges as possible to raise as much money as possible. “I’d read about how the Charity’s income had plummeted during the pandemic, as so many fundraising events had to be cancelled. I know so many people who have benefited from the Charity’s support, it just made sense to try and help them in return.”
Locals in Dan’s home town of Warminster are getting used to seeing him pounding the streets in fire kit – he’s even been offered a few lifts by drivers concerned that’s he’s on duty! His aim is to better his current half marathon personal best of two hours 28 minutes, and to raise at least £2,000.
If you’d like to make a donation, please visit www.justgiving.com/FirefighterFry