Mercer puts his friend before personal glory
9:24am Friday 29th July 2011 in Other
BOLTON Ironman, Neil Mercer, has no intention of smashing his personal best this year.
The first Boltonian to cross the line last year will be joining a team of fellow firemen who have vowed to stick by their close friend Paul Norris from start to finish.
Norris, a watch manager at Bolton North fire station, was recently diagnosed with throat cancer. A regular contender in Ironman events, he used to joke with Mercer that they would compete on every continent in as many countries as they could in their lifetimes.
The news of his cancer diagnosis brought a sad irony.
In the past, both Norris and Mercer raised tens of thousands of pounds for The Christie hospital, Manchester, where Norris has undergone two serious operation.
This year, five Boltonians, four from the Bolton Fire Service, and friends from Salford and Broughton, will compete in the Bolton showpiece.
Friends from Strathclyde and other members of the firefighting community will be cheering them on around the course.
In the last two years Mercer has won the veterans’ category of the race and has qualified for the World Championships in Hawaii three times.
He was involved in a bike accident a few weeks ago that threatened to hinder his performance in Austria’s Ironman event, but he recovered enough to qualify for the World Ironman again before deciding to sacrifice his performance on Sunday to help his friend, Norris.
Mercer said: “This year, I won’t be trying for the title of UK Vets Ironman champion.
“The purpose of this year’s race is to support Paul as he fights this disease, whilst raising money for The Christie and Cancer Research.
“The team are hoping to stick together throughout the entire race. We aim to finish it under the 17-hour limit and we’ll stay by Paul’s side until he gets his t-shirt and medal. We want to run down the finishing chute with him in front and we’ll all hold a ‘Firefighters for Christies’ banner.”
Despite the recent introduction of a Firefighters Triathlon, the race will be a first experience for the majority of the team. But Mercer and his colleagues have vowed to do as much as they can to raise as much money as possible.
Mercer said: “Last year, we raised around £15,000 for various hospitals and organisations and we have done for many years. So far this year we’ve raised about £5,000 but it’s still short of our target of £10,000.”
The team’s kit has been sponsored by several local companies, which has been a massive boost to the team’s cause. Mercer said: “We’re very grateful for the sponsorship we have received.
Our thanks go to Bolton’s Mint Casinos and The Unique Kitchen Company, Manchester’s Burton Copeland solicitors, Strathclyde’s Cross Garage, Stonehouse Ltd and Bio Racer running wear.
“Bolton’s Abstract Printing have also printed ‘Firefighters for Christies’ onto our kits free of charge, along with Union Jack flags. We’re hoping that we’ll look quite professional and the lads will all look the part.”
Mercer’s colleague Chris Rainford has written a book of his experiences in the Ironman events. “Fireman to Ironman”
tells the story of how Rainford coped with the triathlon race.
It can be found at: www.fireservice.co.uk/store/ir onman. All proceeds will be donated to The Christie.
There has also been a fundraising page set up for the firefighters’ attempt at the Ironman UK event. To make a donation visit: www.justgiving.com/firefighte rs4christies.
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