DUMFRIES and Galloway’s top doc has been raising money for the work of the blood bikes.
Medical director Dr Ken Donaldson put his physical fitness to the test and ran the London Marathon, raising £3048 for the good cause.
As he handed over a cheque to Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes for the total, the 51-year-old, from Lockerbie, described the 26.2 mile challenge as ‘long, tough but inspiring’.
And he praised the charity for playing a key role supporting the region’s health services, saying: “This team provides an invaluable service to our region, and does so on an entirely voluntary basis.
“Day in, day out, these bike riders and car drivers are moving from location to location, transporting materials ranging from urgent blood to blood samples, medical equipment, medical notes and medications – so much of which will be pivotal in the lives of so many patients within Dumfries and Galloway.
“For everything they do every single day, I was happy to put on my running shoes and take on the 26.2 mile challenge to raise funds for them.” It was seeing a friend take on the marathon which put the idea in his mind and Dr Donaldson said: “I watched a good friend run the London Marathon last year and found myself getting quite emotional, so I entered the lottery for a place in this year’s event.
“In the past I’ve done regular five and 10k runs and did a half marathon in 2017, but taking on the marathon in London represented a major challenge, and prompted long months of training in anticipation of the big day.
“The atmosphere was electric on the day, and that together with the determination to deliver on the pledges people had kindly made in support of Blood Bikes helped carry me round the route.
“That said, it was a really tough challenge. The training itself took up a lot of my time and was often quite lonely, the exact opposite of the experience on the day. I will never forget the encouragement from the crowd which restored my faith in humanity!
“My t-shirt had my name and ‘Running for Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes’ on it and for over 5 hours I was regaled with ‘Come on, Ken, well done, Ken, do it for the Blood Bikes, Ken’. This definitely helped get me to the finish line.”
Thanking him, Blood Bikes chairman Dave Hook said: “What Ken did in support of Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes is amazing.
“He put himself through an extremely physical challenge, but was also fantastic at encouraging people to make donations as he prepared to do this – all of it set to benefit our teams, supporting the work they continue to undertake every day.”
