Ian’s on course for marathon effort
A WIDNES man will be running his first marathon at the end of the month in aid of two good causes.
Ian Lynch, 44, of Tabley Avenue, will take to the streets of Edinburgh on Sunday, May 28.
He is running to assist fire cadets from Cheshire for their Nepal project with the charity Classrooms In The Clouds.
A team of cadets from the county are planning to visit the country in October where they intend to build much needed classrooms for village children at a cost of £70,000.
The group are aiming to build a brand new six-classroom school in a remote village in the Basa region of Nepal after the area suffered a huge amount of destruction to villages and communities from earthquakes in 2015.
Ian is also running for the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), which was launched in April 2016 and is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country.
Ian, also a freemason and a shift team manager at Solvay Interox in Warrington, said: “I’ve always kept reasonably fit and finally plucked up the courage to run a marathon this year.
“I chose Edinburgh having been unsuccessful in the ballot for London for the past four years.
“We were approached at last years’ Vintage Rally in Victoria Park by cadet leader Keith Roberts who asked if we could provide any assistance with their fundraising for the Nepal project.
“Having then gone to meet Keith and the cadets in Lacey Street, I was amazed at their professionalism and the efforts they were going to, both in their fund- raising and also in their trip to Nepal this October, to help in the building of a school previously destroyed by the 2015 earthquake in the region.
“I had no hesitation in offering to help, which is why I decided to use my run in the marathon to raise funds through sponsorship to help out these worthy causes.”
Ian is also in the process of asking businesses in the area to donate prizes for a draw at a fundraising party night on Saturday, July 1, at Widnes Masonic Hall, starting at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £8 with a disco and chicken and chips included, with all proceeds to be equally split between the two good causes.
For tickets call 07955 953 767 or email ian@ijlcourier.co.uk
To donate visit www.justgiving. c o m / c rowd f u n d i n g / i a n - lynchEdinburghMarathon2017 ●