Employees smash Manchester Marathon in aid of North East Wales Mind

A team of friends and colleagues from a north east Wales company have smashed the Manchester Marathon and helped to raise vital funds for a mental health charity.

Hazel Bainbridge, Andrew Baker, Iwan Gwyn, Ben Morgan, and Reza Yaghoubi from the P&A Group were accompanied by Pawel Czapiewski, Krzysztof Narloch and Jan Wardyn, representing one of Zest’s polish partner companies.

They all took on the challenge on April 14 in aid of North East Wales Mind, which helps people in Wrexham and Flintshire support individuals with mental health problems and stay emotionally healthy.

In addition to telephone counselling and emotional support, the charity offers a range of online services and activities. Their phone lines are open 10am til 4pm each weekday.

Five of the team successfully recorded times of under four hours: first over the line for P&A was Andrew who recorded a time of 3.12.28.

He was followed by Iwan with a time of 3.21.30, Jan and Krzystof at 3.42.51, and Pawel at 3.48.47.

The remaining three runners recorded times under five hours: Ben at 4.17.06, Reza at 4.23.21 and Hazel at 4.52.28.

Steve Morgan, P&A Group Managing Director commented: “I am really proud of the team for completing the Manchester Marathon and recording such brilliant times along the way and to have raised nearly £4,000 so far is fantastic.

“This figure will be added to other fundraising totals as our aim is to reach £10,000 this year for North East Wales Mind.

“Not only have they each achieved a personal goal but they have most importantly raised awareness of mental health issues.

“To add this figure to the £1,869 raised for the Chester 10K means we are off to a great start”

Ben Morgan, P&A Group employee commented: “I’m delighted that eight of us managed to cross the finish line of the Manchester Marathon.

“The weather was definitely on our side on Sunday and the atmosphere on the 26.2 mile route was fantastic – there were lots of people spurring us on.

“It really was a team effort on the day as we shone a spotlight on mental health issues and, raised a lot of money for North East Wales Mind.

“Sadly, the need for mental health support services is increasing on a daily basis but, by supporting charities such as North East Wales Mind, we are determined to do all we can to help those who require specialist support.”

Hazel Bainbridge, P&A Group HR Director, added: “This was my very first marathon and we wanted to turn every step of the 26.2 miles into a beacon of hope for those who need support with mental health issues.

“It’s important to do more to remove the stigma and silence that surrounds mental well-being and make it easy to talk about our mental health, so supporting the work that North East Wales Mind do is worth the effort. It was a challenge but extremely worthwhile.

You can donate to North East Wales Mind here