RNLI helmsmen tackle 110 mile race for charity

Dave Scott and Dave Barker are taking part in the Hardmoors 110 ultra-marathon over the last weekend of April.

The epic race will start in Filey, North Yorkshire at 8am on Saturday 30 April and will follow the popular Cleveland Way through Scarborough and Whitby towards Saltburn. The route then turns inland towards Great Ayton and Osmotherley, and finishes in Helmsley on the evening of Sunday 1 May. There is a time limit of 36 hours for the race.

Both Daves have taken part in ultra-marathons in the past, but this is by far the greatest challenge they will have faced.

Dave Scott said; ‘We’ve been training really hard for this. We’ve done practice runs by splitting the route in two halves to make sure we know what we’re up against.

‘We’ll be running as a team. Supporting each other is going to be really important. Neither of us has run anything like this distance before so we’ll have to keep each other going.

‘Walkers usually take seven to 10 days to complete the route.’

Dave Scott, a volunteer helmsman and lifeboat mechanic at the Redcar RNLI lifeboat station, and Dave Barker, also a helmsman, from St Bees RNLI on the northwest coast, share a passion for running.

Dave Barker works in the nuclear safety industry and took up running to help his girlfriend quit smoking and take up exercise. Dave Scott works for PD Ports and started running just a few years ago when he took part in the Great North Run.

The two Daves are hoping to raise £2000 for the RNLI.

The race coincides with the RNLI’s Mayday appeal, the charity’s annual fundraising event which this year runs from 26 April to 2 May.

Anyone wishing to support the runners by donating to the RNLI can do so through their JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/Lifeboat-daves/.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Image 1 shows Dave Barker (left) and Dave Scott 1 shows Dave Barker (left) and Dave Scott in running gear. Credit RNLI/Dave Cocks
• Image 2 shows Dave Scott (left) and Dave Barker on board an Atlantic 85 lifeboat of the type they are helmsmen. Credit RNLI/Dave Cocks
• Image 3 shows Dave Scott (left) and Dave Barker in front of an Atlantic 85 class lifeboat. Credit RNLI/Dave Cocks
• Redcar lifeboat station has been operating since 1802
• Redcar currently operates a B-class lifeboat named Leicester Challenge III, paid for by the people of Leicester, and an IB1-class lifeboat named Eileen May Loach-Thomas, paid from the legacy of the late Nicolas Thomas of Shropshire
• For more news, information and images go to www.redcarlifeboat.org.uk
• Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/redcarrnli
• Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RedcarRNLI

RNLI media contacts:

For more information please contact Dave Cocks, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager on 07894 558 483, Alison Levett, RNLI PR Manager, North, on 01642 754828 or 07786 668912 or at [email protected]. Alternatively, contact Clare Hopps, RNLI Press Officer, North on 01642 754811 or 07824 518641 or at [email protected], or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789; [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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