For those of you who don't know me: I am a keen (and slow) runner, quantum physicist, and mother of two young daughters. (that sums it up, I guess ;-)).

I have been very concerned about the lack of income that many charities are experiencing during the lockdown, with many traditional big fundraisers cancelled, and felt, I would like to do my bit to contribute just a little. In particular, I want to support charities that try to help alleviate inequality by helping children in difficult situations. 

The current situation is affecting those in worse circumstances way harder than the affluent few, so the need for projects supporting disadvantaged children has rarely been greater. I have chosen to fundraise for the ALMT as they are a brilliant grant giving charity that vets and supports numerous smaller projects that directly help children. Please help me raise money so they can continue to make life better for countless children on the planet. 

As for my challenge - I chose a rather personal one: My husband and children and I are all missing my German parents who support us in so many ways and usually spend a lot of time with us. Normally we would be spending most of the birthdays in the family together, but this year, due to the covid-19 pandemic, we cannot be together. Thus, I have decided to symbolically complete the distance of 455 miles door to door between our place and my parents place between my mum's birthday on the 28th of April, and my dad's birthday on the 3rd of August. Now, I wish I could run all that, but my current fitness level doesn't quite make that realistic (in particular whilst continuing to work, homeschooling the kids, and also protecting my immune system by not doing completely crazy distances). Thus, although I am not much of a cyclist, I have decided to allow myself a little bit of cycling to get to my destination. So here is the challenge: Jog 300 miles and cycle 155 between 28 April and 3 August. Not an easy task for me! This is a bit of a marathon for me, and I'd like to acknowledge this similarity by aiming to raise £2.62 for every mile of the way - summing up to £1192.10 if I got the maths right ;-). Please support me in this personal challenge, and help me raise funds for the brilliant ALMT to help make children's lifes better!

Have a look at the updates below where I'll post regularly to let you know how it is going!

Update: I'm all set to finish my running challenge a little earlier, by the 18th of July. Having enjoyed the running through this beautiful city very much, I want to end with a bang! Thus, on the 1st of August when I will also have finished my cycling bit, I will embark on a grand finale run of 20 miles incorporating some of my favourite bits of running routes from the past few months. This will be my own personal Royal Parks Run. I'll add a map of the approximate route soon. Note that this will be only the second time in my life to run (I am not sure running will be the right word exactly) 20 miles in one go. The first one was at last years Edinburgh marathon, which was the most humbling experience of my life... at 20 miles I didn't look or feel too good then, but I fought my way through to the end then, for a good cause. And I will now. I am sure it will hurt, but I believe it's worth it. Help me get through it by reaching deep into your pockets, and donating (even if it's just a little - don't be put off by the automatically suggested amounts) to help the ALMT to help the many children who need help so desperately! Check out the updates soon for further informations on the grand finale!