Running for Zarach

This year I will be running 47 miles and climbing over 6,000
feet (& potentially getting very lost) across two races, in support of the Zarach charity.

My challenge

Starting with the Calderdale Hike

On 9^th April I will be running 16 miles and climbing 2805 feet of the Calderdale Hike.

There are no waymarkers on this route, the only way round is
via different checkpoints using a map and compass. Anyone who knows me well, knows I can get lost in an empty room. Also, I am dyslexic, so I find learning anything new quite challenging. So, it’s fair to say, the distance is the least of my worries with this one.

Finishing with The Heights Ultra Trail

Then on 3^rd September I will be running the
Heights Ultra Trail, which is 50k (31 miles roughly) & 3280 feet of climbing. This run is based around the Colne & Holme Valley.

Whilst I appreciate, I am a person who runs already, I am
normally a road runner, so trails are new to me, I generally try to find the flattest route possible (even try & avoid speed bumps where possible!) so hills be will be a challenge and as I have already mentioned, navigation is not my strong point. These two runs will present a lot of challenge for me and I am pretty terrified, I won’t lie!

So, why am I doing this to myself and more importantly,
why am I asking for your support? 

Zarach deliver beds and basics to children in poverty across
Leeds, and recently, Dewsbury to help families in crisis rise up from surviving to thriving so children can Eat, Sleep and Learn.

The charity was founded by Bex Wilson and here’s why she set
it up:

“ I’m a Deputy Head Teacher at an inner-city Primary School
in Leeds. In 2017, whilst teaching an 11-year old boy, I noticed he wasn’t his usual happy self so I asked if he was feeling tired. His response and that moment, not that I knew it at the time, were to change both my life and his. ‘Miss, I am always tired. I don’t have a bed.’

After speaking with mum it became clear that the family had
experienced a crisis resulting in an unplanned house move to an unfurnished home. The three children shared a bed bug infested old sofa cushion to sleep on. They were covered in sores. Mum felt like she had no hope and nowhere to turn. Despite working in a city with lots of brilliant community organisations, I discovered there wasn’t any help available to get the children beds.

I realised I had a choice; to be satisfied with trying to meet his needs within the classroom because that is what I’m paid to do, or to
continue to be the best teacher I can be whilst using my time and influence to make sure every child in our city (and now beyond) has their basic needs met. If a child sleeps and eats well, they learn better. Fact. Education is the key to breaking the poverty cycle. It’s time we even out the playing field.”

I read this story over Christmas and couldn’t believe what I
was reading. I like to think I am pretty aware of what happens in the world, especially on my own doorstep but I couldn’t get my head around kids sharing couch cushions with siblings, sleeping in bathtubs or on floors. It absolutely broke me. Another part of the story is, that not long after the beds had been delivered, the mum from the above story met Bex at the school gates and pressed
some money into her hand. When Bex asked what it was for she said “I want you to be able to help someone else, like you helped me.”

So, if Bex Wilson can help a family and then so many more
through her charity, when she could have just carried on with her lesson that day and a woman who has nothing, can give the small amount of money she does have to help someone else, then the least I can do is pull on a pair of trainers and risk getting lost up a hill.

I hope this story and the challenges I have set myself are
enough to make you consider donating what you can to help further.

It would mean the absolute world to me and children across
Leeds & Dewsbury.

If you would like to find out more about Zarach and the
amazing work they do visit their website (zarach.org)

I will keep this page up to date with my training progress (and
likely pitfalls, when I get to them) and any other activity I do, so you can follow along or you can find me on Instagram (@skinnerl2).