A team of firefighters based at Handsworth Community Fire Station is preparing to run the Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford in support of Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) Charity.

Red Watch Crew Commander Andrew Potts and his colleagues Mark Hancox and Matt Dee are running the marathon, which takes place on Sunday 8 May, in aid of patients on the Burns Unit at QEHB.

The team will be joined by the man who inspired them to take part – Karl Hinett, a former soldier who was badly burned on duty in Iraq when his tank was set alight. Karl is running 52 marathons around the world this year in aid of the charity as a thank you to the staff who cared for him during his five years of treatment. The Shakespeare Marathon will be Karl’s 21st marathon.

Mark Hancox, who is 36 and lives in Sutton Coldfield, said: “Having completed the Birmingham Half Marathon we decided we wanted a bigger challenge and to do it in support of a charity close to our hearts. We decided on running the Shakespeare Marathon and then after reading the press coverage about Karl’s amazing story, we wanted to join him in raising funds for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity.

"We know our donations will go directly to caring for patients on the Burns Unit and we’re proud to be running the Shakespeare Marathon alongside Karl, if we can keep up with him that is!”

Having completed a training run of 18 miles in two and a half hours, the team is hoping they can finish in under four.

“We’ll be really proud to even finish the marathon, let alone do it in under four hours!” said Andrew, who is 33 and lives in Solihull. “We have all found fitting in training sessions around work and family life a challenge, but the thought of how much we could raise and benefit people through the hospital’s official charity is really keeping us motivated.”

Matt, who’s 38 and lives in West Bromwich, added: “A heel injury is unfortunately hampering my training at the moment, but the thought of a pint at the end and a reminder of how much difference we’ll have made to the patients will keep me going to the finish line. We found the cheers of the crowd really helped us when running the Birmingham Half Marathon so please do come along and cheer us on on the day.”

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