NORWICH ‘IRONMAN’ RAISES NEARLY £2,000 FOR EAST ANGLIAN AIR AMBULANCE

A Norwich accountant has raised almost £2,000 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance after taking on one of the toughest sporting challenges around.

39 year-old Tim Barnes, who works as an audit senior manager at Lovewell Blake, completed the gruelling Ironman triathlon – a 3.8km swim in open water, leading into a 180km bike ride, followed by running a full marathon (42.2km) – all in just over 14 hours.

Mr Barnes visited the East Anglia Air Ambulance’s headquarters at Norwich Airport to hand over the £1,950 he raised in the process – enough to pay for five vital blood plasma units which are used by the service to help some of the most seriously injured patients have the best chance of survival and recovery.

Receiving his donation, Jenny Mitchell, events lead at the East Anglian Air Ambulance, said, “As a charity, we receive no regular government funding, so fundraising like Tim’s is so important to keep us operational.  

“Blood transfusions ensure that the most gravely injured patients suffering a major bleed have the best chance of getting to hospital through increasing oxygen delivery and clot production.  A unit each of plasma and packed red blood cells comes to around £360 – meaning Tim’s incredible efforts could therefore cover the costs of this advanced treatment for five local people whose lives are hanging in the balance.”

A keen runner for some years, Mr Barnes took up cycling seriously during the pandemic and started swimming regularly too – which is how the idea of completing a triathlon came about.  He completed a half iron distance triathlon in Holkham, Norfolk, last Summer and subsequently decided to aim for the full distance Ironman – the toughest of the various triathlon distances (the Olympic distance is far shorter, with a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and a 10km run).

“The Ironman is the toughest thing I have ever undertaken, but was also one of the most rewarding,” he said.  “I was very pleased to complete the challenge almost three hours within the 17 hours time limit, and I am incredibly grateful to all the family, friends, colleagues and business contacts who so generously supported my fundraising efforts.

“East Anglian Air Ambulance is always there to help people in trouble.  They do fantastic work which makes a real difference to peoples’ lives, and I’m proud to be supporting them.”