My 50th Birthday was during lockdown so passed unmarked apart from a garden gathering of immediate family. A friend suggested celebrating my 50th ParkRun instead and that is now in sight - albeit further delayed by a scattering of Saturday tutorials, a broken foot and a bout of covid.

I ran my 47th ParkRun today so am now close enough to be confident of completing the big 50 in the next few weeks. To mark the occasion, I've set up a fundraiser for The Open University Students Educational Trust (OUSET), a charity owned and operated by the OU Students Association, who really are celebrating their 50th Birthday this year!

I first joined the #OUFamily as a student in 1994 - studying Physical Resources in the Environment and attending tutorials on the UWE campus - so I am keen to give something back now that I am a STEM Staff Tutor. OUSET supports OU students who are in severe financial hardship, where the likelihood of successfully completing their study goals is threatened. OUSET's Board of Trustees is chaired by the immediate past president of the Students Association and is nearly entirely comprised of student trustees. OUSET relies primarily on donations and legacies to provide funding to support its charitable aims. You can find out more about becoming involved with OUSET fundraising on the Students Association website or by emailing ouset@open.ac.uk.

Please do help me celebrate my milestone with a donation, or by joining me for a ParkRun https://www.parkrun.org.uk/ either as one of the 500 at Eastville Park or remotely near you :)