Roughly once a decade I'm compelled to run a long way for charity. I ran my first marathon in 2004, then my second in 2014 and on that schedule I was due another one in 2024 which I did not get round to. However, I am now upping the ante and in April 2025 'll be trying to complete the Chiltern Ridge Classic - a 51km Ultra: https://runawayracing.com/races/chiltern-ridge-ultra-trail/

Not having done anything this long and arduous (32 miles with 3200 ft. of ascent – more than climbing Mt. Snowdon), my main aim is just to finish. However, it would be nice to do it in under 7 hours.

To make it something more than just a physical and mental challenge, I’m aiming to raise money for two charities that I’ve been involved with in different ways over the last few years, with sponsorship split 50/50 between Mind (in south Warwickshire and Worcestershire) and The Heart of England Forest. Please read on for a bit of information about these excellent causes and my connection to them below. Thanks a lot to everyone who sponsors me, it really is motivational through many cold, dark and wet winter training sessions.

Mind have a mission to promote wellbeing and help improve and prevent mental-health problems in the community by providing free support and programs to help people towards this goal. I was a volunteer with Mind for a couple of years at the Stratford-upon-Avon “Greenminds” program. This free weekly session provides an opportunity for people to get involved in gardening and growing produce. It encourages regular involvement in planning, planting and growing a variety of fruit and vegetables. This gets participants outdoors, where they can learn skills, share knowledge, build friendships and improve confidence. It is also a chance to have a chat about how they feel, be supported and provide support to others with the added bonus of sometimes taking home freshly grown produce. I’ve seen for myself how important this can be to those who attend, and this is just one of many important services Mind offer in the local area: https://swwmind.org.uk/

The Heart of England Forest, is a charity dedicated to creating and conserving broadleaf woodland, something which has been in decline in the UK for centuries. The 7000 acres of land currently owned by the charity comprises a selection of habitats, including over 4600 acres of newly planted woodland, 600 acres of mature and ancient woodland and also encompasses grassland, heathland, farmland and wetland. So far, over 2 million trees have been planted, creating significant positive impact on carbon storage along with improving water purification and flood alleviation and the Forest has a goal to reach 30K acres that will be protected for hundreds of years to come. My involvement with the Charity is developing and managing their Natural Burial Ground (https://alnewoodpark.co.uk) slightly unusual but rewarding role. The burial ground provides an important service to the community while creating an ecologically-sound income source to support the Charities work. This is just one aspect of what we do outside of planting trees, you can read more about the other activities on the organisations website: https://heartofenglandforest.org/