Hey! I'm running  a silly distance across the first quarter of 2023 to raise money for Joel's Bar. (https://www.joelsbar.co.uk/)

What is Joel's Bar?

Joel's Bar is a week-long conference for young Catholics, happening from April 9th to April 14th 2023. It offers an opportunity for young people to deepen their faith, and build community with other like-minded people.

JB has had a massive impact on my own faith journey, and I feel a strong responsibility to help lead an event that allows other young adults to have an experience similar to my own. 

What am I doing?

From the 1st of January until Sunday the 9th of April (which is when our conference starts) I'm planning on running the distance to Worth Abbey. This is where we're holding JB2023 and it's a kind of homecoming following covid and a different venue last year. We've always had a fantastic relationship with the community of benedictine monks at Worth, so we're all really looking forward to being back there.

From my house it's a journey of 397km, although rather than go for a leisurely jog down the country I'll just break it up into slightly more palatable chunks instead.

JB is a cause that is so important to me, and it's quite possibly the only thing that could lead me to make such a poor life decision as this running project.

To add a little spice to proceedings, as part of this challenge I'll be running the Stockport 10K on the 29th of January, and the Chester 10K on the 12th of March, as well as the Liverpool Half-Marathon on the 26th of March (so that's 40km handily boxed off when it comes around).

Strava magically keeps this page updated with my run progress so you can track my daily plod! 

Why do I need money?

We want as many young people as we can to have the opportunity to attend, however we're also painfully aware of the current cost of living crisis. To ensure that nobody is priced out of this conference, we offer heavily subsidised ticket costs, as well as full bursary tickets for those who need them. We also have our own running costs on top of this, so we have a responsibility to fundraise as much as possible. We're really really grateful for any and all financial support we receive. The full undiscounted price of one ticket is £300. 

Reaching my target would allow me to fund a place for at least one other person. The more I raise, the more people can receive discounts - winner winner discounted dinner! All money will go straight to JB!

I'd be really grateful for any donations received. We are a charity so please do tick the box for gift aid if you're able! 

If nothing else I'd really appreciate your prayers for Joel's Bar, that the conference is able to go ahead as planned, and that it's a really fruitful experience for all involved.

Thanks for your support (and reading this essay)!!!

Mike