Office team raises thousands for charity in walking, running and cycling challenge

The group walked, cycled and ran to deliver the Allianz Path to Paris 2024 torch from Lancaster to the Allianz Manchester office.

The challenge makes up part of a wider effort by Allianz UK to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity, to ensure that nobody in the UK has to face a mental health problem alone.

Money raised through the Premierline challenge will be donated directly to Lancashire Mind to support those suffering with mental health problems in the local area.

Across the UK, Allianz businesses are taking on this ambitious challenge with a colossal fundraising goal of £100,000.

The start of the event featured a short opening ceremony, including a short speech from Stuart Darroch, managing director at Premierline, and a visit from deputy mayor Coun Martin Bottoms on behalf of Lancaster City Council.

Special thanks go to Lancaster City Council who supplied a torch from the London 2012 Olympic Games to help get the teams into the spirit of things ahead of the challenge.

After the opening ceremony, the teams departed on foot from Lancaster at 8am, taking on a 13 mile walk via the Lancaster Canal and Galgate to The Bellflower, arriving shortly after 12.30pm for a well-deserved rest, before passing on the torch to the cycling team.

The cyclists tackled a 30 mile bike ride through Preston and into Horwich in time to pass the torch for the final leg of the relay, a 12 mile run right into the heart of Manchester city centre.

Together, the teams from Premierline and Allianz Lancaster have raised a grand total of £2,022, a figure which will be matched by Allianz to see a grand total of £4,044 donated to Lancashire Mind.

Although the Allianz 2024 Path to Paris torch has now passed on from Lancaster to Manchester, the fundraising activities in Lancaster will continue right through the lead up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with monthly events and competitions for the team at Premierline to get stuck into in order to continue this stellar fundraising effort.