Wrexham solicitor Neil Turnbull turns 40 this year and is to celebrate in energetic style by running the London marathon.
Neil, a senior partner with Walker Smith Way solicitors, will run in aid of the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) on April 13. It will be his first ever marathon.
He is an SIA member and his Walker Smith Way colleague at Wrexham, solicitor Darren Hughes, who is wheelchair-bound following a diving accident, is a trustee of the association, which helps people lead more full and independent lives after traumatic injury.
“I’ll be 40 in September, which one reason why I started to think seriously about the marathon, as a way of celebrating reaching that age milestone! But more importantly was the knowledge that it would help the SIA,” said Neil. “Of all charities, this one means a lot to us here at Walker Smith Way. We’ve supported it in the past through various events and it’s quite special to us.”
Neil is also a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and heads the trade union department at Walker Smith Way, which employs 170 staff at offices in Wrexham and Chester. He specialises in cases involving catastrophic injury, employer liability, road accidents and repetitive strain injuries, and once recovered £5.2 million compensation for a client who suffered a spinal cord injury in a fall at work.
He said: “I’ve met many people who have suffered disabling injuries and have long admired the rehabilitation work the SIA does to help them through trauma, so it’s nice to think I can do something to support that.”
Dad of two, Neil has to pledged to raise £5,000 for the charity, but hopes to raise significantly more and has been busy seeking sponsors.
He’s also had to put himself on a rigorous training schedule.
“I’m more of a rugby enthusiast than a runner, so I’ve had to change my training tactics a bit,” he said.
He’s slowly building up stamina through a gruelling schedule of weekend runs.
“I turned a corner the last time I was out and ran directly into a headwind, which made it a bit tougher, but I survived,” he laughed.
Fund-raisers can pledge to sponsor Neil’s marathon run online by clicking here.
