Jack Goodwin, a firefighter from Kempston Fire Station and member of Bedford and County Athletic Club, has raised over £2,000 after staging a unique charity race against his colleagues.
Jack took on the 5km race with a difference when he challenged relay teams of his fellow Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service colleagues to compete against him.
The charity race took place at Bedford International Athletics Stadium on Saturday, 26 July.
Vital funds were raised for The Fire Fighters Charity and the Bedford Hospital Charity – two organisations that played a key role in Jack’s robotic-assisted surgery at Bedford Hospital and his subsequent recovery.
During the challenge, Jack raced multiple relay teams over a 5km distance at Bedford Athletics Stadium. It was a hard run race, with Jack being narrowly pipped to the post by the Beds South relay team.
Results:
1st – Beds South team – 14:10
2nd – Jack Goodwin – 14:24
3rd – Beds North team – 14:41
4th – On-call / management team – 14:55
Jack said: “The event went surprisingly smoothly, and it seemed like everyone had a good time. I really appreciate all the support from the runners, spectators and donors.
“Being a competitive person, I wanted to win, but the Beds South team were a class act. With less than 50 seconds separating all of us, it was an interesting race to be a part of, and great for the spectators to watch.
“The most important part was the biggest success; we hit our target on raising over £2,000.”
Jack hopes to run a similar event next summer as he continues to support the two charities that have had such a big impact on him.
