Thank you for taking a moment to visit my Just Giving page.

Why am I running the London marathon for The Born Free Foundation? If you’ve got literally nothing to do then sit down and read the whole deal….. But honestly, I shan’t blame you if you just want to skip to the bottom where I say thank you for being a smashing supporter.

You already know me, so you know I am passionate about animal rights. I could talk endlessly about how it is my unwavering belief that animals should never be exploited or treated inhumanly for our pleasure. It’s a given, right? No one I know isn’t unmoved by animal suffering, and none of us want any more species to be forever eradicated from the planet.

Born Free are a global force leading campaigns against animal trafficking, big cat game-hunting (who doesn’t hate those b******s?) and animal exploitation wherever it exists. At its cornerstone is the ethos of “keeping wildlife in the wild”.

And it’s not just lions, and tigers and bears – the Born Free Foundation work incredibly hard for our British familiar friends for our beautiful native hedgehogs, badgers, seals, red squirrels (still never seen one ) and the hare (80% decline in their population in the last century).

You can learn about the wonderful work that Born Free in the UK do here.

If you’ve ever seen me running, you might struggle to believe that I actually enjoy it. Really.
No, it’s not pretty; I’m no poster girl for athletic chic, so what’s the appeal?
When I’m home I run through my local countryside, across the reservoir and surrounding nature reserve. Tempted as I am to tell you about my feeling of connection and oneness with nature in these moments, I shan’t, but I hope you can imagine. When I’m in Ibiza I can sometimes convince myself into an early run by the sparkling sea, and along rural trails. Seriously beautiful.
So for me it’s all about the primal connection with nature – and yes, I know how [crystal-clutching, dream-catcher spinning, mystic woo-woo] BS that sounds. But I’ll own it.

You’ve got this far? *claps* well done. Because (without going on too much) I wanted you to understand that I am fundraising for The Born Free Foundation because if we examine our conscience, we can all empathise with non-human suffering, and when this suffering is caused by humans we can easily come together to prevent and eliminate it.

Thank you for your support and donation, I sincerely appreciate every penny, every kind word and all the support you have given me. Claire xx :) 

Bit more about what Born Free do:

Zoo Check: Zoo Check is at the heart of Born Free and takes action to stop captive animal suffering, challenge the multi-billion-pound global captive animal industry, and phase-out zoos and animal circuses.


Big Cats: Born Free rescues individual lions, tigers and leopards from tiny cages and gives them lifetime care at sanctuaries, funds major lion and tiger conservation projects and fights hunting big cats for ‘sport’.


Elephants: Born Free protects wild elephants and their habitat in Africa and Asia, fights the brutal ivory trade, cares for orphaned calves, opposes the capture of wild elephants for zoos, and campaigns against exploitation.

Primates: Born Free supports the UN’s Great Ape Survival Project, rescues orphaned apes, fights the global ape ‘bushmeat’ and exotic pet trades, protects wild gorillas and returns rescued monkeys to the wild.


Wolves: Born Free protects the Ethiopian wolf, the world’s rarest canid, rescues wolves in need, develops solutions when wolves and people come in conflict, campaigns against hunting and exposes the plight of captive wolves.

Marine: Born Free protects rare basking sharks, funds marine turtle and dugong conservation, monitors wild orcas, helps rescue stranded cetaceans, fights captive exploitation, and opposes wild capture of dolphins and whales.

Bears: Born Free investigates tourism’s impact on polar bears, cares for rescued dancing bears and individuals from bile farms, fights the gall bladder trade and captive exploitation.

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