For immediate release
Hope for Tomorrow Press Release
The twelve day marathon - the marathon for everyone
Intrepid Hope for Tomorrow supporter Carly Barnes is the brains behind this amazing virtual marathon event which is the perfect antidoteto over indulgence at Christmas!
In her own words Carly explains the thinking behind it:
If you've ever watched the London Marathon on the TV and dreamily said to yourself "I wish I could run a marathon" and then never done anything about it, then the Twelve Day Marathon might just be the motivation you need.
The idea is that over the course of the twelve days of Christmas (25thDecember 2019 - 5thJanuary 2020), you complete 26.2 miles however you want. Walk, jog or run. In one go, or in smaller chunks. Inside on a treadmill, or outside on the road or trails. One friend, who is not a runner, is going to do it when she hits the shops for the January sales, she told me she'd even walk into town rather than drive.
Some who take part will be seasoned runners and may want to use it as part of a training block for another event, or to see if they can smash a few PB's. Others may be venturing out for the very first time and discovering what they are capable of. Either way, everyone will be taking part in a marathon event, and will all be part of the Twelve Day community. There is an Instagram page, a Facebook event and a strava board and by using the #twelvedaymarathon we can all cheer each other on - from where ever we are in the world.
On the 5thJanuary you tell me you've completed the challenge via the email on the website and I'll post out your shiny marathon medal. Apart from covering the cost of the medals and postage all the money raised will go to charity.
The reason I'm organising this event
Next year, I will be running the London Marathon for two incredible charities. Family Actionwho work to tackle some of the most complex and difficult issues that families in our communities are facing - including financial hardship, mental health problems, social isolation, learning disabilities, domestic abuse, or substance misuse and alcohol problems.
Family Action work hard to ensure that families facing these difficulties have the support they need to become stronger, happier and healthier. As a mum myself it breaks my heart that not all kids get the same start in life so I hope my efforts will help a little.
I am also going to be raising funds for a charity very close to my heart, Hope for Tomorrow.This incredible charityhave helped my father in law with his ongoing fight with incurable cancer. Hope for Tomorrow allow patients to save time by having their cancer care closer to home, via one of their mobile chemo units, saving them time and energy to be with the people that mean the most. I ran Race To The Tower (a double trail marathon) for these guys earlier this year and they will ALWAYS hold a special place for me.
With big events like the London Marathon runners find they get donner fatigue, and asking friends and family for money can sometimes be a little awkward. So I wanted to do something a little bit different and remembered my pal Livvy Hill (AKA @thenutritiousrunner on Instgram) had organized a virtual marathon in 2017.
It was during this event that I fell in love with the sport of running. I'd run on and off for years but never really consistently - I always gave up as I had no goal and was on my own. This event gave me a reason to run and through it I met so many like minded people just starting out on their running journey. I was hooked and since running those first few miles I've gone onto running my first ultra-marathon this year (I still pinch myself).
I was chatting to Livvy and asked her how she went about organizing her event, and she said, "well why don't you do the Twelve Day Marathon and I'll give you all the info you need to get started". I had met Livvy through the little squares of Instagram and I was blown away that she would do this for me.
So here I am, having grabbed all the advice I can from Livvy, roped my poor husband in to building me a website (I'm apparently his most picky client) to take Paypal payments for the Twelve Day Marathon, and today I placed the order for 200 medals.
On day one, just before going to bed I have 20 sign ups, including one from Australia - the event is officially global. A target of 200 feels huge but I am really hoping I can do it and will be boring everyone with it from now until the last medal is posted.
I am a massive fan of Mimi Anderson, a British female ultra-runner, and in her book, she talks about signing up for the Marathon des Sables - an iconic 150-mile multi-day self-sufficiency staged race in the Sahara. When she entered, the furthest she had run was 13 miles. She completed it, and has since gone on to run (and win) every extreme running event out there. Just before she goes into the detail of the training for MDS, she says "How will I know unless I try". This has become a life moto for me with most things I do. Yes I am worried this event might not won't work out but unless I try I won't know. So I'm 100% taking this attitude with creating this event, and I hope others will be inspired by that moto, sign up, see what they can achieve and help support two incredible charities along the way.
If you like the sound of the Twelve Day Marathon and want to do something for charity why not book your space:
http://www.twelvedaymarathon.com/product/twelve-day-marathon/
Pictured above Carly Barnes, Hope for Tomorrow supporter
ENDS
Note to editors
About Hope for Tomorrow
Hope for Tomorrow is a dedicated charity, bringing cancer care closer to patients' homes via our Mobile Cancer Care Units (MCCUs).
Fighting cancer is one of the hardest things any one will ever have to do, even without the additional stress of spending hours travelling long distances to hospitals to receive treatment. This is why Hope for Tomorrow brings cancer care closer to patient's homes, to ease the strains of travel and to give them more time with their loved ones.
We work in a unique partnership with the NHS helping to ease capacity challenges at hospital trusts. We now have 10 MCCUs operational in Gloucestershire, Somerset, South Wiltshire, East Kent, Lincolnshire, Cornwall, West Suffolk, East Essex, London/ Surrey and West Yorkshire, with two reserve MCCUs in place to ensure continuity of service during the maintenance schedule. We also provide a Nurses Support Vehicle with each MCCU, which allows the nursing team to travel to and from the daily treatment locations.
The charity won a Queen's Award for Enterprise - Innovation, in 2016. The Award is the UK's highest accolade for business success, and was made in recognition of our achievements since the Founder, Christine Mills MBE, set up Hope for Tomorrow in 2003.
EACH MOBILE CANCER CARE UNIT COSTS THE CHARITY £198 PER DAY TO KEEP ON THE ROAD. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT HOPE FOR TOMORROW PLEASE CONTACT NIKKI BUDDING ON THE CONTACT DETAILS BELOW:
or
alternatively please call on:
01666 505055
For further enquiries, please contact:
Nikki Budding, Fundraising Manager
Nikkibudding@hopefortomorrow.org.uk
About Carly Barnes
Carly Barnes
Mum of two, wife and lover of trail running with a view, a snack and a pal.
@girl_run_the_shire
@twelvedaymarathon
07970 682931