Giant Caterpillar Raises £2,000 For Charity
RUNNERS taking part in May’s Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run were joined by the spectacular sight of a giant caterpillar making its way through Manchester’s city centre.
It was not an optical illusion or a figment of imagination – instead it was the handiwork of Kevan Downie.
Kevan, a firefighter for Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, led a team of 30 runners wearing a 50ft long yellow caterpillar along the 10km course at the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run.
Kevan and his caterpillar runners raised just under £2,000 for When You Wish Upon A Star, taking just over 90 minutes to make it around the city centre course.
The caterpillar was last seen in Manchester in 2010, but Kevan, from White Watch at Stockport Fire Station, thought the time was right to resurrect the insect in spectacular style.
He said: “It all went to plan and we made it over the line in one piece in just over an hour and a half. It was a hot and sweaty one as you could quite imagine but the emotion of the day and the crowd spurred us on.
“We have another event planned in September which hopefully will raise a bit more for such a good cause.”
How To Enter
Europe’s biggest 10K, which was accompanied by a half marathon for the first time in May, returns to the city centre of Manchester on Sunday, 20 May, 2018, with entries for both distances open now.
The 10K and half marathon both start on Portland Street, the half marathon plots a course to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, before heading west to Manchester United’s Old Trafford, where it picks up the 10K route back into the city centre, finishing on Deansgate alongside the iconic Beetham Tower.
To enter, visit greatrun.org/Manchester
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