Presenting, for one precious time only, a display of outstanding coordinated athleticism brought to you by Team Tender.
On one cold evening on holidays in Switzerland, Róisín managed to pursuade a hardy band of fellows (incentivised by a reduced-rate entry fee that was expiring at midnight that very same night) to join her in a mission to raise some much needed funds for one of the most innovative and hard-working UK youth charities, Tender.
And lo, Team Tender was born. This mixed bag of runners - Simon (The First Timer), Jill (The Comeback Kid), Barry (The-I-Did-A-Marathon-But-Still-Had-To-Train-Really-Hard) and Róisín (The 10k Enthusiast) - committed to brave the harsh late winter months training to run a Relay of the 2010 Prague Marathon on May 9th.
Many aching feet, wheezing chests, blisters and promises to quit smoking later - we have nearly arrived at our collective doomsday. However, what will make it all worth it, is if everyone can find it in themselves to spare a couple of quid and help us help a charity that's doing a lot of good in the UK right now.
Tender is a charity that aims to strike at the core of domestic and sexual violence by promoting healthy relationships based on equality and respect. In order to do this, they use drama projects and education for young adults, which educates them on domestic violence, exposes attitudes and stereotypes that condone and conceal domestic and sexual violence and enables those young people to seek support if they, or someone they know, is suffering from abuse. The organisation not only reaches a vast audience by operating in schools, Pupil Referral Units and youth centres, it also provides domestic violence awareness training for adults so they are better equipped to support young people in abusive situations.
As if that wasn't enough to get you rummaging for your change, the statistics say it all:
1 in 4 women internationally will experience domestic or sexual violence at some point throughout their lives
2 women per week on average are killed in the UK by a partner or former partner (1/3 of all female homicides)
13 million separate incidents of physical violence or threats of violence in the UK against women by partners or former partners, in any given year (over 1 million a month on average)
Tender is working hard and effectively (according to an independent evaluation released in 2009!) to change traditional stereotypes surrounding domestic and sexual violence that have contributed to instigating the violence reported in these statistics. With their help, the youths of today will be empowered to enter and sustain healthy relationships, as well as find the support they need to leave currently unhealthy situations.
Help us, help Tender.
Thank you,
Róisín (10k)
Simon (10k)
Jill (10k)
Barry (12k)
