Distillery Team smash fundraising target!!
Despite a terrible weather forecast, we went ahead with our Helicopter Half Marathon for the Wales Air Ambulance charity on Tuesday 27th May - and absolutely smashed our targets with the help of friends from the community. A great day and we'd like to thank all who came along and who has supported us with donations!
Early preparations for our fundraising event
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, our friend Matthew was out mowing a track in our field. Despite Sally, our Marketing Manager's best efforts, we hadn't been able to stretch the route to longer than 400m. However, Matthew pointed out the obvious - use the piece of land that runs behind the car park - and bingo - a 500m 'track' was in place ready for the event. To say it was a 'track' doesn't do justice to the molehills and grassy tufts that we weren't able to get rid of entirely; however, the route was mown and clear to run!
Bad weather didn't dampen spirits!
Of course, in half term week, the weather was always going to be dodgy. Tuesday's forecast was particularly bad, with heavy rain and strong winds predicted. In the end, the general consensus was that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Those who started out at 12 p.m. did get pretty wet - but by the middle of the afternoon, the rain had cleared and we almost saw some blue sky.
The Distillery team started out at 12 p.m. braving the worst of the Welsh 'sunshine' (rain and winds), some walking, some running. Joe M, our Sales Exec, had forgotten his kit so waited for his trainers to be dropped off before joining the rest of us - along with 2 of his sisters who joined in. Once we'd kicked off, it seemed like we had a steady stream of willing athletes coming along to take part. The amount of support we had from the community was incredible. A combined team of runners from various locations in Wales representing Mentera, Cywain and Sgiliau Bwyd a Diod came along as did a group from our local printers, EL Jones. One of our local Personal Trainers, Gwenith Evans brought one of her evening client groups along and Cardigan Running Club members really pulled out the stops, with 16 runners coming along throughout the afternoon and evening, many putting in full half marathon distances solo.
Distance and Fundraising Targets smashed
So how did we do? We set out to complete 13.68 miles between us - and raise £1,368.00 for Wales Air Ambulance Charity. We chose the distance because the helicopters that are the workhorses of the Air Ambulance service are 13.68 metres long. As a Distillery team alone, we more than achieved the distance. Sally and Ellen both completed solo half marathons, Molly and Joe M both achieved good distances on their own account, and the walking contingent also completed a number of laps.
However, in total, along with all the runners, we completed 922 laps - 461km/286 miles and raised over £1700!!
If you would still like to donate you can use our Go Fund Me Page to swell the funds we have raised already. The money goes to the Wales Air Ambulance Charity to support the incredible work they do for our community here in west Wales where access to medical facilities, especially in an emergency, can be tricky.
