Trainee Solicitor Goes the Distance for Air Ambulance

A Northumberland trainee solicitor is going the extra mile – or 110 – to help support the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA). James Charlton, 30, has vowed to give 110 per cent to raise as much money as possible for the GNAA as he takes to the fells this weekend for the Hardmoors 110 Ultramarathon. The 110-mile race sees runners follow the Cleveland Way National Trail round the North Yorkshire Moors and the Cleveland Heritage coastline, in under 36 hours. As part of his training programme James has already run in many hill races across Northumberland, the Lake District, Scotland and Yorkshire, which have exceeded 25 miles, while some have run over two days such as the RAB Mountain Marathon. In June he also completed the Lakeland 50 race in just 12 hours – placing him 63rd out of 350 runners. James, a trainee solicitor at Northumberland-based DAWN Advice, said: “I’ve been fell running for a several years now and although I’ve completed a few major hill runs I wanted to do something which would really challenge me. I chose to run the Hardmoors 110 in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance as it’s definitely a very worthy cause and I think they do a tremendous job. “As I ride a motorbike and use the fells a lot as part of my running I’m very aware of the times I may, one day, rely on the service. It’s important to me to be able to give something back to support the Great North Air Ambulance as it plays such an intricate role in helping to save so many lives each year by transporting critically ill and injured people to hospital.” DAWN Advice announced the Great North Air Ambulance Service as its nominated charity earlier this year. Employees at the social-enterprise have already raised funds for the charity through a clothes swapping event, bake days, raffles and a summer barbecue. Liz Chadwick, Chief Executive of DAWN Advice, added: “We were absolutely thrilled to select the Great North Air Ambulance Service as our nominated charity and I’m delighted that James is really putting his all into helping to support the organisation. “As the Great North Air Ambulance relies so heavily on public donations everyone at DAWN is extremely proud to be helping the organisation to continue providing this outstanding service, which saves hundreds of lives every year across the entire region.” Established in May 1991, The Great North Air Ambulance Service operates a fleet of helicopters based across the North East and Cumbria which are vital for the transportation of time-critical injured or ill patients to specialising hospitals. It costs approximately £1.2m each year to operate one helicopter and as the service receives no Government or lottery funding it relies solely on public donations, in addition to its own business income generation streams. DAWN Advice offers free, confidential and independent advice to people across the region and nationally on issues relating to housing, debt, employment, welfare benefits and family law. Established in 1998, DAWN Advice is a social enterprise and a member of the UK's largest network of free, advice-providing organisations, adviceUK and will now become a Member of the National Association of Citizen's Advice Bureau. Anyone interested in sponsoring James should visit www.justgiving.com/100mileidiot

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