Penlee lifeboatman’s daughter joins 5,080km run for Ian Minett

Some numbers stop being numbers. For five police officers from Gloucestershire, 5080 is a distance, a target and a colleague’s shoulder number all at once. It belonged to PC Ian Minett, and mile by mile they have been running their way up to it.

A number that became a mission

Ian Minett collapsed with a heart attack at work on 21 June 2025. He was 38. His shoulder number was 5080, the identifier every officer carries, and his colleagues decided that number would be how they remembered him.

So the target became 5,080 kilometres, a figure big enough to hurt and personal enough to matter. They called the effort Miles for Minett.

Five colleagues, 1,016km each

The runners are five members of Cheltenham B Shift, Matt, Neil, Jack, Dom and Georgia, splitting the distance between them at 1,016 kilometres apiece. They started on 1 September 2025 and have been chipping away at their share ever since, through the dark months and out the other side.

The finish is set for 30 September 2026, when they plan to run the Cheltenham Half Marathon together and close out the challenge side by side.

Every pound is split evenly between two causes tied closely to what happened. Half goes to the British Heart Foundation and half to Care of Police Survivors, the charity that stands with the families of officers who have died long after the headlines have gone.

The Penlee connection

The reason the story has travelled all the way to Cornwall is family. Penlee Lifeboat shared the appeal because one of the five runners is the daughter of Patch, a familiar face on the Penlee crew, seen here with him in his RNLI kit.

“Please have a read of their story,” the station wrote, “and any donations would be greatly appreciated to get them through the final stage of their challenge.”

How to support the final stretch

The bulk of the kilometres are done, and the fundraising has already sailed past its £5,080 goal, with donations still coming in from close to 200 supporters. What is left is the last push and the half marathon finish.

Donations can be made through the team’s Miles for Minett page, and progress is being shared on Instagram at @milesforminett. The number they set out to reach is met. The run to Ian’s memory is not quite finished.