West Yorkshire Police officer raises thousands for charity with sponsored marathon

Officer Chris Birkenshaw and friend Chris Nash have embarked on various runs to raise money for charity.

The pair were supposed to run the London marathon for the first time last year in support of charity Children First International, who help children in poverty all over the world.

But due to the pandemic, the marathon was postponed until at least 2021.

Instead of waiting until the marathon can go ahead, Mr Birkenshaw and Mr Nash decided to run the 26.2 miles locally.

Taking inspiration from different park runs they'd done in the past, the pair decided to merge them together and run them in one day back in October.

The two men ran the equivalent of the marathon from Greenhead Park in Huddersfield, through Brighouse and Dewsbury before ending up at Oakwell Park in Kirklees.

Keen runners, Mr Birkenshaw and Mr Nash are active members of the running group Go Be Runners, based in Batley and Spen.

When they aren’t running, both Chris’s are active in helping feed the homeless in Leeds, regularly working with charities Focus4Hope and Homeless Street Angels.

And the pair donated a number of gifts to children and elderly patients at Pinderfields Hospital for Christmas.

Mr Birkenshaw said: “Eunning is good for both my mental and physical health. It gets the endorphins going and keeps me nice and healthy.

“I’m raising money to give back to the community. I am lucky and grateful for what I have and just want to do things to give back.”

They both managed to raise over £1,000 each with more money trickling in online through online donation pages.

Mr Birkenshaw and Mr Nash also have their eyes set on climbing mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.

The money raised from this impressive hike will be donated the Pennine Domestic Abuse partnership. To donate to Chris’s Kilimanjaro trek, visit here.