A Westbury woman has helped to raise over a thousand pounds for Wiltshire Air Ambulance by running a half marathon for the first time after the service provided life-saving assistance to her friends following a motorbike accident.
Megan Edwards, from Westbury, was joined by Helen Drew, from Bristol, and together they raised £1,236 plus £253 in Gift Aid for the Air Ambulance by completing the Great Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday 25th September.
Their friends, Séanan Henning and Alex Thomas, were seriously injured in a motorbike accident on the B3098 between Westbury and Bratton, in April. As a result, they were both airlifted to the Major Trauma Unit in Southmead Hospital, Bristol.
Séanan was airlifted in just 12 minutes by the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Alex was airlifted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
Megan said, “I’m really pleased with how the half marathon went. It was tough, though I was aiming for three hours and I did it in 2hr48! It was great to have the support of friends there on the day, but all of the spectators cheered everyone on anyway, which was lovely.
“I’m so proud of what I have achieved and thankful to everyone who sponsored us, helping raise over £1000 for this fantastic charity.”
Helen, whose parents, Sue and Ian, own the White Horse News said, “I only started running at the end of April so I was really pleased with my time of 2h 20mins, which is faster than I had done in training, and that I managed to run the whole half marathon course without walking.
“I’m delighted that we raised so much money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. It’s a fantastic charity that provided life-saving support to my friends and many other people across Wiltshire and the South West. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored or supported me and Meg.”
Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA) needs to raise £3.25million a year to keep its crew and helicopter flying. WAA does not receive any central government funding and relies almost entirely on public donations.
You can still donate to Megan and Helen’s JustGiving page online at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/greatbristolhalf
