The challenge: the Dinner Suit Double - Tough Mudder and the Reigate Half Marathon in one weekend

On Saturday the 18th September, covid-permitting, I’ll be running Tough Mudder down near Crawley, Sussex. Many people will be familiar with Tough Mudder - it’s a gruelling slog across 10 miles and 24 diverse obstacles running the gamut from “difficult” to “unpleasant” to “meets the legal definition of torture, but you volunteered and signed a waiver”.

And if that’s not enough, I’ll be running it in a dinner suit, dress shirt and bow tie. The suit is made from M&S’s finest machine stitched polyester, and gets super heavy and super uncomfortable once it’s wet and muddy, but it looks extremely elegant, and that’s the main thing you’re looking for in performance sportswear. [No - I will not be wearing formal shoes. I’m not a complete idiot]. Like me, the suit has run a Tough Mudder before, and is starting to show its age a bit. But the both of us are looking for a new challenge, which brings us on to part 2.

Having just done 10 miles of climbs, crawls, ice baths, tear gas and electric shocks, the suit and I will (after a quick clean to remove the worst of the mud) be venturing out at the crack of dawn the very next day to join in with Run Reigate for the Reigate Half Marathon. Still in stylish formalwear, I’ll be running 21 km from Reigate down to Horley and back, over the fearsome Greensand ridge (twice!), finishing up in Reigate’s Priory Park to have a well-earned G&T, because good sports hydration is essential.

The Charity: YMCA East Surrey

I’m raising money for the YMCA East Surrey - an exceptional local charity that has been actively supporting the community in Reigate & Banstead for over 150 years, and which I have personally benefitted from.

YMCA East Surrey offers a wide range of services that support children and young people, and promote mental and physical health for people of all ages with a passionate focus on accessibility and inclusivity. These include:
• Health and wellbeing - including their state of the art inclusive sports facility in Redhill which provides a space for everyone regardless of age or ability.
• Disability - including activities and clubs for children with disabilities, support for parents of children with disabilities and additional needs, an exercise referral scheme to make exercise more accessible to those with chronic health conditions or injuries.
• Children and young people - including clubs and activities, volunteering, mental health counselling, and support for homelessness.

Currently, YMCA is putting all donations towards its Life Change Fund which helps local young people get their lives back on track following the impact of COVID-19. The Life Change Fund supports a range of YMCA services and programmes to help young people build the resilience, belief and confidence to overcome the challenges they face.

This last year, all charities have been facing a difficult time as demand for services has risen at the same time as fundraising has been obstructed by lockdowns and the pandemic. The charity’s youth homelessness housing service for example saw a 412% increase in applications from 2019-2020. Any donation you can give will help.

More about the charity’s services here: https://www.ymcaeastsurrey.org.uk/our-services/
... life change fund here: https://www.ymcaeastsurrey.org.uk/life-change-fund/
... and impact here: https://www.ymcaeastsurrey.org.uk/about-us/our-impact/