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Bristol paramedic takes on marathon challenge
A paramedic hopes to cover a distance equivalent to climbing Everest four times in a marathon fundraiser to raise money for his airborne colleagues.
Rob Stanfield, an avid climber and ex-marine, plans to “run, walk and crawl” a distance of 630 miles in 24 days, beginning in February.
The route will span the entire south west coastal path, stretching from Minehead down to Cornwall and past Devon and Dorset.
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What triggered Rob to take on such an epic mission?
“I’ve got some February annual leave coming up and I was just figuring out a productive way I could use it and an idea came to mind”, the 27-year-old said.
Rob wants to raise “as much money and as much awareness for the charity as possible” – photo: Rob Stanfield
Rob, who lives in Speedwell, is raising money for a cause he works closely with as a paramedic, the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.
He said: “Our local air ambulance…support us and look after our most ill and injured patients, bringing that high level of critical care to the roadside by helicopter or by road.”
“That’s my inspiration for it really. I get to see these guys firsthand and the genuine life saving interventions they do. And I can’t imagine not having them.”
Rob laughed that the idea is a “ridiculous” one, but he “relishes the challenge”.
“It’s going to push me right to my absolute absolute limit”, Rob said, who has partaken in long distance cycling, walking and climbing expeditions in the past.
“This is definitely going to be the most gruelling and hardest thing I’ve done for sure… and I think it’s gonna be it’s gonna be pretty emotional towards the end.”
Rob will travelling solo and sleeping under a sheet and a sleeping bag, a prospect he admits is daunting in the winter.
He explained: “As part of the severity of the challenge, 90 per cent of the trail I’ve got a small bivy shelter…The vast majority of nights are going to be cats out on the hill in the dark and cold.
“This is real now, it’s going to happen. I am pretty anxious at this stage: lots of kit packing and repacking to do.”
The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, which attends emergencies across Bristol, Bath and the south west, relies on donations to function.
“That money that is entirely based on the kindness and charity donations from the public so that basically whatever anyone can spare, it all adds up”, Rob said.
“Hopefully we can keep these guys flying.”
Rob begins his journey on Wednesday, February 2 and is accepting donations through his JustGiving page.
Rob suggests donating 1p per mile of his journey – image: Rob Stanfield
Main photo by Rob Stanfield
Read more: Man trapped in cave for two days will volunteer for the team that rescued him
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