Friend runs Great North Run for slain police officer
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Daragh Burke, a friend of Police Constable Matthew Blades, will run the Great North Run in Newcastle, England, to honour his memory and continue PC Blades’ fundraising for Parkinson’s UK.
PC Blades and another Cleveland Police officer died in a crash last month, along with five other people, after a car travelled the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough.
Burke will run in PC Blades’ place, hoping to complete the half marathon and ensure his running vest crosses the finish line. Burke and PC Blades had a lifelong friendship, beginning in primary school and continuing through university, and served as godfathers to each other’s children. PC Blades had been raising money for Parkinson’s UK because his mother-in-law received a diagnosis of the condition, and the Great North Run was to be his second-to-last fundraising event this year.
Parkinson’s UK expressed gratitude to both PC Blades for his support and to Burke for taking on the run in his stead. Organisers of the Great North Run officially transferred PC Blades’ running number to Burke, and cautioned other participants against swapping numbers because each one contains important personal information. Burke asked those watching the race to remember PC Blades when they see him run, describing his friend as a consistently cheerful and generous person.
