RNLI volunteers tackle 110 mile ultra-marathon

Two RNLI volunteer helmsmen from opposite sides of the country are swapping their lifejackets for running vests to tackle a gruelling 110-mile run to raise funds for the charity.

Dave Scott and Dave Barker are taking part in the Hardmoors 110 ultra-marathon over the last weekend of April.

The epic race will start in Filey, North Yorkshire at 8am on Saturday 30 April and will follow the popular Cleveland Way through Scarborough and Whitby towards Saltburn. The route then turns inland towards Great Ayton and Osmotherley, and finishes in Helmsley on the evening of Sunday 1 May. There is a time limit of 36 hours for the race.

Both Daves have taken part in ultra-marathons in the past, but this is by far the greatest challenge they will have faced.

Dave Scott said; ‘We’ve been training really hard for this. We’ve done practice runs by splitting the route in two halves to make sure we know what we’re up against.

‘We’ll be running as a team. Supporting each other is going to be really important. Neither of us has run anything like this distance before so we’ll have to keep each other going.

‘Walkers usually take seven to 10 days to complete the route.’

Dave Scott, a volunteer helmsman and lifeboat mechanic at the Redcar RNLI lifeboat station, and Dave Barker, also a helmsman, from St Bees RNLI on the northwest coast, share a passion for running.

Dave Barker works in the nuclear safety industry and took up running to help his girlfriend quit smoking and take up exercise. Dave Scott works for PD Ports and started running just a few years ago when he took part in the Great North Run.

The two Daves are hoping to raise £2000 for the RNLI.

The race coincides with the RNLI’s Mayday appeal, the charity’s annual fundraising event which this year runs from 26 April to 2 May.

Anyone wishing to support the runners by donating to the RNLI can do so through their JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/Lifeboat-daves/.