Why I’m running the Bath Half for GWAAC
January 31, 2019
Head of Fundraising
May 24, 2019
As a part of Team GWAAC, runners will be joining people like Kirsty. Kirsty, who lives in Keynsham, only started running in November 2017, but has clocked up an impressive 500 miles in the year to date, building up to her first half marathon in Bath.
Explaining why she decided to support Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, Kirsty said:
“GWAAC is a wonderful charity and so, so important. They provide emergency care at such a critical time in someone’s life. We all have loved ones and friends and if anything were to happen to them we would be devastated. I’ve been there and it hurts like nothing else in the world. Knowing that GWAAC is there for all of us is so precious: you just can’t put a price on that service. By running the Bath Half for them and raising some money I will be doing for them what they do for us: being there.”
GWAAC’s team consists of highly skilled Critical Care Doctors and Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care, who are able to carry out life-saving interventions such as blood transfusions, and administer anaesthetics, at the scene of an incident – in effect bringing the skills you would usually find in an Emergency Department to your local high street, the roadside, or even your home. The GWAAC crew attend on average 5 incidents every single day, providing advanced critical care at the scene of an accident or medical emergency.
Funds raised from the 2019 event will help keep Bath’s air ambulance operational, carrying out life-saving work all across the region. It costs in excess of £3 million each year to keep GWAAC’s helicopter and critical care cars running and the charity receives no day-to-day government or National Lottery funding.
For those thinking about signing up for the Bath Half, Kirsty has the following advice:
“If you have ever said to yourself and others ‘I can’t run’ then just look at me, I was the biggest doubter. I am the most unnatural runner I know, I’m not a spring chicken, and I still get out there and do it. Great Western Air Ambulance Charity will always be close to my heart – I thought about it for about 5 minutes and took the plunge and signed up! If I can, you can too!”
