Tree-mendous effort from City of Trees runners in Manchester Simply Health race

Treemendous effort by runners who took on the Simply Health Manchester Run in aid of City of Trees

Three members of the City of Trees team totted up over 40km between them, with two of the runners dressed up as trees to show their support for the environment.

Will Fitzpatrick, 26; Eleanor Walker, 25 and Leigh-Anne Bullough, 25, all work for the charity that is aiming to plant 3million trees across Greater Manchester – one for every person in the region.

Leigh-Anne and Eleanor decided to take on the 10k run dressed as trees to help raise awareness about the importance of trees, woods and green spaces in our cities and towns.

Will completed the half marathon in 1hr 54minutes. Eleanor Walker completed the 10k in 57minutes 22 and Leigh-Anne Bullough in 1hour 8 minutes.

Both run routes took in some of the key sights of Manchester including Old Trafford, the Bridgewater Hall and came through the city centre along Deansgate, finishing by the Hilton on Deansgate.

Leigh-Anne said: “We ran to raise awareness about the excellent work City of Trees does across Greater Manchester creating and maintaining the beautiful green spaces we have on our doorstep.

“We are not separate or above the natural world, we are an integral part of it. The time to act to protect nature is now, and that’s why we were proud to run through Manchester dressed as trees to raise awareness of the actions we can all take to protect nature and support the City of Trees movement!”

Will, who took on the bigger challenge of the half marathon, commented: “City of Trees are amazing at engaging people with the environment around them, especially in cities like Manchester where there is so much green space for people to enjoy!”

Sian Day, Fundraising Manager added: “As a charity we rely on donations to continue our work planting trees and managing woodland to create healthier, happier and more resilient communities across Greater Manchester.

“We’re really grateful to Leigh-Anne, Eleanor, Will and all our fabulous fundraisers who make this happen. Every £10 raised helps plant a tree and connects more people to nature”.

The tree-ffic trio have raised over £250 so far and want to hit a team target of £375. You can donate to the cause via JustGiving - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/run-for-trees-19