A GLEN Vine man has raised money for St John Ambulance Isle of Man and Hospice Isle of Man by completing the Liverpool Marathon.

Roy Crellin realised the value of St John Ambulance, which relies entirely on donations, fundraising and the income it receives from commercial training, when he attended a first aid course.

He has donated £500 of the money raised to the charity.

The 39-year-old, a transport supervisor with Isle of Man Transport, raised almost double that sum in total and is donating the rest to Hospice Isle of Man in memory of a late colleague.

He completed the marathon, his third in a year, in 4 hours 28 minutes and 2 seconds.

Roy said of the race: "Two bus driver colleagues, Dave Sims and Dave Hodgson, said they were doing it and asked me to join in.

"I didn't really want to run another marathon so close to my last one in April. But then I thought 'hey, why not?'

"We lost a dear colleague, bus driver Robbie Oates, who passed away in Hospice, so I saw first-hand what a wonderful job Hospice does and decided to run the marathon in memory of Robbie.

"I was on a St John Ambulance first aid at work course and told Phil Bennett, the instructor, that I was running the Liverpool Marathon.

"He asked whether I would consider running it for St John Ambulance. I thought – why not raise money for them, too, as they are a cracking outfit."

Roy is married to Diane and they have daughters Jasmine, nine, and Molly, 5. The family live in Bollan Way.

He and the girls are members of the Western Athletics Club and he helps out with children's winter indoor training and summer outdoor league club nights, both held at Queen Elizabeth II High School in Peel.

Roy ran the Dublin Marathon in October 2010 in a time of 4hrs 10mins 45secs and added just a second to his time when he tackled the London Marathon in April 2011.

He said: "My first marathon was a great day. Just to be out there and run more than 26 miles for the first time - the feeling will stay with me for a long time.

"A pal and I raised much-needed funds for the Hyperbaric Chamber and Western Athletics Club.

"The London Marathon is a must run for any marathon runner.

"The whole race is unbelievable, from the famous faces you are running with to the general public lining the streets to cheer you on."

Despite his consistently good times, Roy admitted: "I didn't train enough for any of my marathons.

"With work and a young family it is hard to find the time to commit to the long training sessions."

So is he planning to enter another marathon any time soon?

"Not at the moment,"’ he said. "I want to spend time with my family and just get back to enjoying my running."

Phil Bennett, who is also St John Ambulance's commercial development officer, said: "We are touched that Roy has remembered his colleague in this special way and that he has given such generous donations to us and Hospice.

"We rely on donations like Roy's to help us to deliver vital first aid cover at events Island-wide and to run subsidised courses to the community that can mean a person being the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

"Like many other charities, we are feeling the effects of the financial downturn and we are grateful to anyone willing to raise funds for us."

For further information about St John Ambulance Isle of Man or to find out how to sign up for first aid courses, volunteer or support its work via donations ring 01624 674387 or visit www.sja.org.uk/sja/counties/isle-of-man.aspx

Roy Crellin (second left) hands over the cheque for £500 to Phil Bennett, commercial development officer with St John Ambulance Isle of Man. Also pictured are Robbie Oates' mother Barbara Oates and Robbie's son and daughter Daniel Oates and Sara McIntyre