A charity race organized by Benidorm firefighters will raise funds for ALS patients

Next Sunday, June 1st, the city of Benidorm will host a popular charity race organized by the Marina Baixa Firefighters Association to raise funds to improve the quality of life of those suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative neuromuscular disease with no cure and whose sufferers require numerous resources to live the best possible life. Benidorm City Councilors for Sports and Social Welfare, Javier Jordá and Ángela Zaragozí, participated this Friday in the race presentation alongside Paco Pedrera, firefighter and driving force behind the initiative, and María Giménez, spokesperson for the Valencian Association of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ADELA-CV), and encouraged people to "register and participate" in support of this cause.

Paco Pedrera explained that the firefighters at Benidorm Fire Station began organizing this charity race, dubbed the Transcostablanca, in 2020 to cover the 42 kilometres between Benidorm and Alicante. This event has continued to be held ever since, albeit with fewer runners due to the demands of the event. “It started as a challenge among colleagues, both for training and as a friendship, during the COVID era. But since I'm a colleague at the Benidorm fire station and my wife has ALS, we took the initiative to make it popular, opening participation to a wider audience and, more importantly, to raise as much money as possible for those in need,” the firefighter explained.

In this edition, the first of its kind, the race will cover a distance of 5 kilometres through the Levante region. Registration for the race opens this afternoon and can be done on the website www.grupobrotons.com, where there will also be options to contribute with a "number zero," make donations or participate in the race as a walk.

The Sports Councilor announced that the runners will start from the Plaza de SS MM los Reyes de España, where the City Hall is located, and will run through Plaza de la Hispanidad, Avenida del Mediterráneo, and Paseo de Levante. He also indicated that other parallel activities will be organized, including the display of a fire engine, to "attract the largest possible audience and raise significant funds, as a cause like ALS deserves."

The ALS association has stated that the Benidorm charity race will be the "kick-off" for various activities that will take place in June in the Valencian Community in honour of World ALS Day, which is commemorated in many countries on June 21st. The goal is to raise awareness and visibility about this disease and the needs of those affected.

Both María Giménez and Paco Pedrera emphasized that families affected by ALS "need significant financial resources to meet all the needs of those affected," and they hoped that "the ALS Law will finally be implemented soon." However, until the law is implemented and financial resources for those affected are increased, "all the charity activities organized are important for families because they provide support to improve the quality of life of those affected and ease the burden on their families."

Finally, both Javier Jordá and Ángela Zaragozí expressed their "full support from the City Council" to the organizers to ensure this initiative "is a complete success" and once again encouraged citizens, visitors, and tourists to "register, participate, or make donations" to support this cause.