Pevensey firefighters to raise money for charity by running half marathon in their kit
and live on Freeview channel 276
Sian Heather and Ben Lechka are hoping to complete the Eastbourne Half Marathon on March 5 in less than two hours.
The pair is raising money for The Fire Fighters Charity, which helps all serving and retired members of the UK's fire family to ‘live healthier and happier’.
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Hide AdMiss Heather said: “We see a lot of our colleagues using the support they provide.
“A few of our colleague here had to use their services and speak really highly of it and it’s really close to a lot of people’s hearts.”
The pair is hoping to donate £500 to the charity – and has already raised more than £200.
On the pair’s fundraising page they said: “The Fire Fighters Charity is a great way to support firefighter's physical and mental wellbeing, sometimes even just to know it's there.”
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Hide AdMiss Heather added: “I am really, really excited. It’s nice to have a challenge to do something good for the people we work closely with.”
Miss Heather, who has been an on-call firefighter for around a year, said it was Mr Lechka’s idea to run in their fire kits.
She added: “They are pretty heavy and the whole idea is for no heat to get in, so it works the other way too, so no heat will go out.”
The pair, who will be wearing trainers with their kit, are both in good physical condition – with Miss Heather playing football for Hastings United.
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Hide AdShe said: “Ben is a half Ironman runner so he runs quite a lot and I have competed in body building competitions and play semi-professional football.”
Miss Heather said despite her athletic background she is still nervous for the event in March.
She added: “I didn’t have any nerves until a colleague spoke to me at work asking me if I was doing any training and was shocked to hear I hadn’t started yet.”