Runner who broke his back completes world’s first rooftop 10K in Manchester

Steve McCourt, 46 is hoping his race might warrant an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

Steve, principal commercial manager for Blackpool-based building services engineering company, Ameon, took to the purpose-built running track on the roof of residential apartment tower block, Vox Manchester.

He wanted to shout his support from the rooftop for NHS heroes in the city who saved is brother-in-law’s life with a heart transplant, and to say thank you again for the doctors and nurses who helped him get back on his feet some years ago after breaking his back in a high fall.

The former electrician, who manages Ameon’s major construction projects in Manchester, had the idea for the run when his team of engineers and technicians worked on the construction of the Vox development.

Having viewed the running track during construction, he hatched the plan and approached the building’s management for permission, and they, alongside his own employer, made the event possible.

To date, Steve McCourt’s efforts have generated £2,500 for the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, which supports 10 hospitals across the area, including Wythenshawe Hospital where, at the age of 54, his brother-in-law Gary Miles was given a new lease of life through heart transplant surgery.

Ameon bosses have agreed to match the money already raised, thereby doubling the value and his Just Giving page will stay live a little longer for retrospective donations.

Steve, from Thonrton in Lancashire, said: “I’ve had fantastic support for this event from my employer, the management team at Vox and members of the public, which shows how much people value our NHS, and I’m delighted to have completed it. The height could have been an issue in windy conditions but we had a calm day, so it couldn’t have been better, and the view of Manchester’s new skyline from the rooftop track was amazing.”

Vox Manchester’s general manager, Kate Howell, was delighted that the building’s unique feature could be put to use in this way.

She said: “We take this facility for granted but it is the only one of its kind in Manchester and having seen how it can be utilised to support charities through endeavours such as Steve’s, we’ll perhaps consider an annual event of this nature in which our tenants and the general public can participate.”

Manchester Foundation Trust Charity’s senior events manager, Viv Williamson, said: “We’re so grateful to Steve and all the team at Ameon and Vox for their incredible support. All the money raised will enable us to fund vital treatment, research and care projects.

“We know our hospitals and their wonderful staff are held dearly in the hearts of many families, including Steve’s, and events like this one are testament to that.”

The Rooftop 10K Challenge is one of a number of charity initiatives in a programme titled ‘Ameon 25’, which has been created to celebrate the company’s 25 th anniversary by generating much needed funding for charitable causes hit hardest by the pandemic.