The Fast Lane Challenge

The Fast Lane Challenge has happened.... frustratingly Justin had picked up a niggling injury & had to rope in some running mates to help him. As they ended up splitting the distance between 3 of them, this kind of skewed the odds in their favour. The runners thus beat the swimmer, despite Cathy swimming the 5km in 1;20;38, the runners were a minute quicker. In lihjt of this very last minute change it was felt only fair that the charity money was split 50/50. So this is what we are goin to do

Justin & Cathy were celebrating post the Valencia marathon, (he running, Cathy spectating her runner husband Rick), when they realised Justin's running marathon time was very similar to Cathy's swimming marathon time. Wine was involved, hence a challenge was conceived that seemed sensible & in the name of a couple of good causes so they had to agree!

The Fast Lane Challenge involves racing each other, Cathy in the pool swimming 200 lengths covering 5km (a swim 1/2 marathon) versus Justin running a 1/2 marathon, 21.0975km or nearly 53 laps of the track. The pool in Winchester is next door to the track, both Everyone Active who run the pool & Winchester University/City of Winchester who run the track have kindly agreed to the use of their facilities free of charge. So the track & the pool have been booked for Saturday 28th of September at 09:00 & the challenge is on!

The important bit (ignoring the battle of the sports & sexes) is the two charities, each charity will get 40% of the joint money raised & the remaining 20% will go to the winner's charity. So 40% to one charity & 60% to the other. The details regarding each charity are as follows:

Justin is raising money for Friends of the Family Winchester & Cathy for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Both charities offer vital help & support to local people. Winchester Running Club have strong links with Friends of the Family Winchester & Cathy is a retired A&E doctor from Southampton University Hospital Trust, so has firsthand experience of the life saving work they do.

Friends of the Family Winchester are a small independent charity, established over 30 years ago. They work in Winchester and its surrounding villages.

Their aim is to improve the life chances of local children and families, who are dealing with overwhelming levels of adversity, making everyday life a challenge.

Their purpose is to offer a safe and nurturing environment where children and their families can learn to help themselves and focus on building a healthy family life for the future.

To find out more about Friends of the Family Winchester's work please visit: www.fotfwinchester.org

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) is the charity that delivers an advanced Critical Care Team to sick and injured people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight when they need it most. Available both day and night, 365 days a year, the Air Ambulance Critical Care Team is called out many times a day to attend road traffic collisions, sporting accidents, collapses and many other incidents.

What is a Critical Care Team?
The Critical Care Teams are made up of Specialist Critical Care Paramedics, HEMS Doctors and Pilots. Our highly skilled Teams are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and advanced medication. They can be at the scene of an incident within minutes, ready to deliver the same level of care that you would expect from a hospital emergency department.

When do they operate?
The Air Ambulance and charity Critical Care Team Vehicles are operational 7 days a week and attend an average of 6 missions per day, many of them life-saving. We operate from 7am until 2am, 365 days a year.

Where do they cover?
The Air Ambulance can be anywhere in Hampshire within 15 minutes and anywhere on the Isle of Wight within 20 minutes. We also work with our neighbouring Air Ambulance charities and can assist them, when required.

How much does it cost?
It costs approximately £17,750 a day to keep our vital service operational.

Why HIOWAA need your support:
Many people do not realise they are a charity. Whilst they work in partnership with University Hospital Southampton and South Central Ambulance Service, who are funded by the NHS, HIOWAA rely entirely on donations from the community to carry out their life-saving service.

To find out more about the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance please visit: hiowaa.org