The event

On midday September 22nd my brother and I will be beginning a 24hr relay run at Equinox 24 (https://www.equinox24.co.uk), located on the grounds of Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire. 

The event involves doing as many laps of a 10km (6.2miles) course in 24hours as you can. Of which I personally am aiming to complete a minimum of 10laps, and my brother is currently aiming at at-least 6laps. Which brings us to a total mileage of around 100 miles. The intention is to have all these laps sub one hour, which is at a pace of completing a  marathon every 4 hours.

This already sounds like a difficult task, but... since a motorcycle accident in 2016 (where I had fractured my spine), I have not been able to run long distances without significant pain. This is being dealt with via core work, but progress is slow (up to 20km now).

My brother currently can't run 5 km/40 mins without a heart rate over 200 bpm and needing a literal week of recovery time. 

The Cause

My nephew Samuel is autistic and has benefited immeasurably thanks to the help he received in his earlier years from the incredible Peter Pan Centre for Children with Special Needs (http://www.thepeterpancentre.co.uk), who are in need of funding to carry on providing their magic to provide the sort of life-changing support to special needs children and their parents which is so desperately needed, yet not provided by the NHS.

Please watch this video to learn more about the vital services the Peter Pan Centre provides. I assure you that's how it actually looks there - they really do interact with the children in that really close one-to-one way with everything geared around the children's needs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG_wArdJAI8

Without their assistance, there is no way Sam would be able to function and progress in the mainstream school he attends now (although he does still require one-to-one supervision). They really helped to turn him from a frustrated nonverbal screaming machine into someone who can express himself verbally most of the time. Additionally with nursery, daycare, babysitting services etc being unavailable to many special needs parents, the relief of having somewhere that can care for their child a few hours a week is also something that cannot be understated.

This is a very special organisation who really do need and deserve every pound they can get. The amount of parents who help fundraise for them, even long after their child has parted ways with the Peter Pan Centre, is testament to the amount of good they do.

Please give generously, this is a cause which is very close to our hearts as they have made such an impact on our lives.