Charity feature: Organisers are encouraging runners to join Barry’s Project 150 at The ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon to raise £150,000 to help teenage cancer patients at The Christie - Sunday, April 6, 2014
Barry, director of Thompson Brothers Insurance based in Stockport and President of the Insurance Institute of Manchester, has been a generous supporter of The Christie since his wife Chris was successfully treated at the specialist cancer centre. Now an ambassador of the young oncology unit, Barry has been fundraising tirelessly throughout 2013 to ensure he hits his target. He said: "After meeting some of the young patients and hearing that a new, state-of-the-art development was being planned to improve their treatment and care at The Christie, we were immediately inspired to help."
"My wife of 33 years remains my total inspiration - Chris’ journey and that of many youngsters has been much harder than running 26.1 miles. The support for Barry’s Project 150 has been amazing from people far and wide, and we now have 176 runners in the team."
Barry's Project 150 will fund one of the specialist HEPA-filtered rooms in the new unit which is opening in Spring 2014. Barry, who lives in Stockport with Chris and their two sons Vincent and Alex, said; "These specialist rooms will help protect young cancer patients, therefore giving them the very best environment in which to receive their treatment and care. During construction, I've been lucky enough to have visited the room I'll be funding in the new development - and have even given a helping hand plastering and painting."
Barry Thompson has recruited runners of all levels to be part of the Barry’s Project 150 campaign, including Dave Norman, winner of the ASICS Manchester Marathon in 2012 and 2013, and Andi Jones who came second in last year’s race. Tony Audenshaw, Liam Fox and Laura Norton who play Bob Hope, Dan Spencer and Kerry Wyatt in the popular TV soap Emmerdale have also pledged their support, with Tony running the full marathon and Liam and Laura taking on the Half/Half challenge on 6th April.
Launched in early 2013, Barry's Project 150 campaign reached the £100,000 mark by December and currently sits at just over £135,000. There are some places left on the team, if you would like to get involved in Barry’s Project 150 please contact Mary McLaughlin, corporate fundraising coordinator at The Christie charity on 0161 918 7398 or email mary.mclaughlin@christie.co.uk
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On the day before the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon, ‘Marathon Mania’ has also been organised in aid of Barry’s Project 150 at the Z-Arts Theatre in Hulme (Saturday 5th April, 4.00 – 6.00pm), with 90% of the ticket price going to Barry’s project to fund a new HEPA room in The Christie’s young oncology unit.
The evening is hosted by TV actor Tony Audenshaw and Marathon Talk presenters Martin Yelling and Tom Williams and includes training tips, interviews, a Q&A session and lots of treats for anyone who loves running.
Tickets to Marathon Mania are available online at www.z-arts.org/events/marathon-mania/ and cost £13.10 or £26.20.
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The ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon, which takes place in Trafford on Sunday 6th April, is the flattest and fastest marathon in the UK and is recognised as one of the flattest courses in the world with only 54m elevation gain.
Starting and finishing at Manchester United Football Club, Old Trafford, the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon includes the two leg ‘Half/Half’ Relay and the ‘Four Leg’ Relay aimed at anyone wishing to run a shorter distance whilst still experiencing the race day atmosphere. A total of 10,000 entries are available for the 2014 race and all finishers receive a medal, goody bag and ASICS technical t-shirt.
Please visit www.greatermanchestermarathon.com for further race details
Keep up to date with the latest event news on social media via Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreaterManchesterMarathon or Twitter: @Marathon_Mcr
