Ely Man Hands Over Cheque To MAGPAS In Memory Of Best Friend

WHEN Stuart Baumber s best friend Charlie Beaumont was involved in a road accident, the medical charity MAGPAS were first on the scene. Despite the immediate response and treatment, the motorcyclist died a few hours later in Addenbrooke s Hospital, Cambr

WHEN Stuart Baumber's best friend Charlie Beaumont was involved in a road accident, the medical charity MAGPAS were first on the scene. Despite the immediate response and treatment, the motorcyclist died a few hours later in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. Last week, Stuart handed over a cheque for �2,307 to MAGPAS after completing the Great North Run in September in memory of his friend.

"Losing a best friend gave me immense strength to do something positive for the community. I wanted to pay something back in Charlie's memory to enable them to deliver their expertise to others in similar situations.

Stuart, who was not an experienced runner said training for the gruelling 13.1 mile race was tough.

"Having previously suffered with knee problems from running on the roads I needed to start my training early and carefully. I donned my badminton shoes and went on my first off-road run of a mile. The ground was soft, but very uneven and when I got home 12 minutes later my legs were shaking so much I could hardly stand. At this point I seriously thought I might have taken on something a little too big for a non-runner. I persistently continued to run every other day and after four months found myself doing three-mile runs with occasional muscle pains."

Stuart gradually increased his distance and joined the Ely Runners to help him reach the distance and finally began to feel he could finish the race. He says on the day of the race the crowds were amazing.

"I had my name printed on the front of my shirt, which made it extra special as complete strangers were calling out my name and cheering me on, the feeling of this when you are already very emotional is indescribable."

He added: On behalf of MAGPAS I would like to thank the following businesses for the sponsorship and encouragement, without them I we would not have raised anywhere near as much money for MAGPAS. Forces Recruitment, Tony Everitt Chartered Accountant, Cambridge Technology Development, instructacard.co.uk, John Williams Design, Garibaldi Studios, Woodware, Dynamiq Engineering, Global Fire Services, Spectacular Opticians, Foxmead Services, The Technology Partnership, PTFE Parts, AW Solutions, Protronics, Panther Taxis and R.J.Marriotts Engineering. I would also like to give a special thank you to 'The Digital Detective' for their extremely generous sponsor and kind support.

Pic cap: Jan Collie from Digital Detectives, Stuart Baumber and Robyn Addison from MAGPAS.

Photo: GEOFF DURRANT