A MEMBER of staff at Denbighshire County Council is taking part in a 48-hour running event to raise money for charity.

Sally Smith will complete a 5k loop as part of the fundraiser, which encourages walkers and runners to take on a 5k loop within one of the allocated hour slots.

With 48 laps in total, the aim is to have at least one person taking on the 5k loop for every time slot.

The event will take place during the August Bank Holiday weekend, and will raise money for Wales Air Ambulance.

Sally is no stranger to fundraising, having raised more than £20,000 over the years for Wales Air Ambulance.

Back in 2017, Sally’s friend required the help of the service but sadly passed away.

 In her friend’s memory, Sally set herself the challenge of running the Chester Half-Marathon.

Since then, Sally has continued to fundraise for the charity, taking on the epic challenge of completing 52 parkruns in 52 weeks.

Sally said: “I woke up one Sunday morning and thought we are going to do a 48-hour parkrun.

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 “We are so community-based, and everybody has been incredible, supporting me, no matter what I do for the charity.

“Even in these times, when money is tight, they are so generous.

“I have nearly filled all the running slots. People are saying ‘I’ll do 1 to 2 in the morning’, ‘I’ll do 4 am to 5 am’.

“We had a group of guys last year who did a 24-hour football match, I went up and supported them and they are supporting me with this now.

“We are going to do some fun games like ‘How many 5ks?’ - a pound a guess. So, that will raise money too.”

Sally is calling on her community to continue their support.

She added: “The community gets involved, everybody supports each other, and people can even come and walk the course for the hour.

“Come and have a chat, your level of fitness really doesn’t matter; you can be part of this.”

“People are already offering to help, saying ‘I’ll do a bit of running,’ ‘I will be a volunteer marshal and cheer the runners on.’

“I’ve put a schedule together, so there will always be someone on the run from beginning to end.”

The run will start at 5 pm on Friday 23 August and end at 5 pm on Sunday 25 August.

Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury. 

It is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.

Sally, who also volunteers for the lifesaving charity, said: “I am just so passionate about the Wales Air Ambulance and what it does. I think what they do, what they stand for and the way it is run is just wonderful.

“I am a volunteer too and once you get involved and do a bit of research; you realise how much the team does.

The Wales Air Ambulance Charity needs to raise £11.2million every year to keep its fleet of helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.

Debra Sima, Wales Air Ambulance’s regional fundraising manager for North-East Wales, said: “Thank you to all those who have already signed up for this 48-hour running challenge!

“What a fantastic way to get the whole community involved.

“We are hugely grateful for Sally’s dedication as a volunteer to our charity and her incredible drive to think up new challenges to raise awareness and most importantly funds.

“These are the kind of events that we love – where everyone can get involved, meet up and socialise whilst also raising money to keep our helicopters in the sky and rapid response vehicles on the road.”

Sally says the service “touches so many lives” and each time she does an event “there is always somebody with a story about themselves, a friend, neighbour or loved one.”