From June 11 to 20, a total of twelve men want to march or run along the former German-German border to the Baltic Sea. During the ten stages, everyone wears firefighting clothing that weighs about eight kilograms. With their campaign they draw attention to the German Cancer Aid and solicit donations.
Ten days of 120 kilometers each: This is how the team wants to manage the campaign. Guido Hartmann, Philipp Heinzel and Björn Beil from the professional fire brigade Paderborn as well as Fabian Böttcher and Frederik Thiele from the volunteer fire brigade Wewer will take part. In addition, members of the professional fire brigade Frankfurt am Main, including Holger Hüfner as the initiator of the “fire brigade border tour”, as well as others from Plettenberg, Würselen, Mertingen and Eisfeld are involved. The six helpers include Josef Sonntag from RMC Schloß Neuhaus and Wilhelm Hoppe from Rad-Treff-Borchen. The starting point should be in the Bavarian municipality of Regnitzlosau, the goal on the Priwall peninsula, which belongs to Lübeck. The period of the tour has been chosen to coincide with the start of Interschutz on June 21: the world’s leading trade fair for the areas of rescue services, fire and disaster control and security takes place in Hanover every five years. The trade fair planned for 2020 had been postponed due to the pandemic.
The participants want to be on the move from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. As a kind of baton they have a compressed air pump with them. “He should never come to a standstill while running,” says Hartmann (46), deputy head of the guard department of the Paderborn fire department 2 south. They want to sleep in the equipment sheds of friendly fire brigades or in community halls.
The border run dates back to the 2015 fire brigade Germany tour. Even then, firefighters in uniform were out for several days, including Hüfner. The trigger at the time was a friend’s cancer.
Hartmann knows what it feels like to march in firefighting gear. For several years he has been involved in events, as an organizer and runner. He and Mathias Schmidt from Höxter initiated the “Firefighter Charity Stairrun” in November. The participants drew attention to diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cancer by running in a 33 meter high stairwell at the University of Paderborn. “It is our concern to support research into diseases,” says Hartmann, referring to the German Cancer Aid.
Hartmann prepares conscientiously for the border crossing, although he is already in good shape as a professional firefighter. “I do sports regularly, but I am currently training in a targeted manner. I run three times a week, mainly over hilly stretches,” he says. This is also necessary because the altitude profile on the route poses challenges. The height of the Brocken in the Harz Mountains alone is 1142 meters. In addition, there is the clothing and – for the respective runner – the carrying of the compressed air breathing apparatus, which weighs around eight kilograms.
If you would like to support the campaign with a donation or even take part, you can find more information on the website https://feuerwehr-deutschlandtour.de.
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