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Bentley to Brooklands charity run

Ten Bentley Graduate Trainees have challenged themselves to complete a 24-hour, 200 mile sponsored run from the Bentley Motors factory in Crewe, Cheshire, to the historic Brooklands Race Circuit in Weybridge, Surrey.

The charity run in aid of Leukaemia Research at Manchester Royal Infirmary will take place over three days from 10th to 12th June 2008 with the team members running 48-minute relays covering 7 miles each over 8 hours each day.

The run will start from the historic Bentley factory on Pyms Lane in Crewe on Tuesday 10th June at 9am, with the ten participants followed by two support vehicles manned by their colleagues from the Trainee programme. The route cuts through the English countryside via footpaths, country roads and parks calling in at three dealerships on route – Bentley Birmingham, Bentley Pangbourne and Bentley Surrey. The team hope to collect funds and raise awareness of both leukaemia and the research undertaken by Manchester Royal Infirmary whilst en route, before finally reaching the Brooklands Museum in Surrey on the afternoon of 12th June.

The group are all enrolled on the Trainee Development Programme at Bentley Motors during which they are learning a wide variety of professional skills to prepare them for a career in the automotive industry. As part of their Programme, the Bentley Academy, which leads this development scheme, encourages the trainees to contribute to the local community, including the organisation of, and participation in, charitable fund raising activities.

The event is the sole responsibility of the trainee team from logistical organisation to completion of the 200-mile course. Andrew Jackaman, Bentley Graduate and Event Organiser comments “The team has worked extremely hard over the past few months, not just training for the actual run but also in planning, collecting sponsorship donations and gaining support from local and national businesses for equipment and clothing.” He adds, “We are confident that our training schedule has been sufficient preparation for what will be a very challenging run. However we still want t o raise a lot more money for these causes, so we want to remind people that it is not too late to donate.”

The run coincides with the launch of the Bentley Brooklands, the luxurious four-seater coupé model that went on sale early this year. The 24-hour running period is also in keeping with the historic Brooklands race in which Bentley competed in the 1920s at the historic race circuit in Surrey.

The trainees will be running in memory of Will Boffey who completed a 12-month industrial placement in production finance at Bentley in 2004, but sadly died last year after a struggle with Leukaemia. All funds raised will go to the Leukaemia Research Fund at Manchester Royal Infirmary (Fund Reference 9163), a designated fund of the Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals Charity (registered charity number 1049274) where Will was treated. Will completed the Wilmslow half marathon while at Bentley and therefore t he team deemed a running event fitting with a fundraising event in his memory.

If you would like to make a donation please visit www.justgiving.com/bentleytobrooklands

The running team are:

Andrew Jackaman - Purchase - Graduate Trainee Amy Grace - Whole Vehicle Engineering - Graduate Trainee Tim Morgan - Interior Trim Engineering - Design Engineer Andrew Durrant - Closures Engineering - Graduate Trainee Alex Frost - Electrical Engineering - Graduate Trainee Dan Evanson - Bodyshop - Apprentice Nick Rait - Sales and Marketing - Graduate Trainee Andrew Conneely - Whole Vehicle Engineering - Graduate Trainee Hannah Proffitt - Closures Engineering - Sponsored Degree Apprentice Mark Byass - Styl ing - Graduate Trainee

The support team are:

Graeme McKenzie - Body in White - Graduate Trainee Jon Smithies - Maintenance - Apprentice Dan Cornwall - Aftersales - Apprentice