“We are all better than we know, if only we can be brought to realise this, we may never be prepared to settle for anything less” – Kurt Hahn (founder of Outward Bound)


These words have stuck with me ever since I first started working for The Outward Bound Trust and are at the core of their foundation.

Did you know that 3 out of every 4 children currently spend less time outdoors than prison inmates, with 1 in 8 households spending the pandemic lockdowns without access to a garden? The Outward Bound Trust takes more than 25,000 young people each year, many from deprived areas, to climb mountains, sleep under the stars and brave the elements in the wild places of the UK. There they discover how to manage risk and reward, to build resilience and confidence and connect with nature. They learn to believe in themselves and they have fun. Never has the development of these attributes been more important than now, developing the attitudes, skills and behaviours young people need to succeed in life.

Through my own experiences working for The Outward Bound Trust I saw countless examples week in week out of the life changing effects that outdoor education courses can have on young people. The pandemic saw a huge amount of outdoor education providers close to never reopen, depriving young people of these vital learning opportunities.

The Outward Bound Trust has never let financial disadvantage stand in the way of attending participation, with over 80% of participants on education courses receiving funding. Last year alone they raised £3.2 million to support 16,000 participants on one of their outdoor courses.

I feel strongly that the power of Outdoor Education is more than just going away and having fun climbing mountains and having adventures; we can learn from overcoming these challenges and apply them our daily lives. If we can summit a mountain when we’re tired and feel it is impossible maybe we can do that homework or try a little harder in our exams. This has never been as important as it is now with the last chaos of the two years as children return to the classroom and start to rebuild their resilience.

The London Marathon has always been a bucket list item of mine. My career at Outward Bound ended abruptly when a climbing accident resulted in me no longer being able to walk up mountains anymore. After years of recovery and multiple operations I am now mainly fixed, apart from some remaining nerve damage, so now the London Marathon seems a fitting challenge to raise money for a cause I believe in as well as a major challenge for myself.

I understand that asking people to donate in the current world climate is big ask, as such I have set myself a huge goal for my first marathon…. To finish in under 3 hours, no mean feat for someone who has never run a marathon before and only returned to running last summer! Less that 4% of runners complete a Marathon in under 3 hours; it’s also the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon and the classification for Good For Age for someone of my vintage. It’s a massive challenge that is going to require a lot of commitment, determination and resilience when everything seems impossible, which are of course all key skills that are taught on Outward Bound courses. This summer is my busiest ever for my business as a wedding photographer, as well as fitting in the volume of training required to beat the clock. Factors outside my control notwithstanding, I will ensure that I am in the best possible shape having done the work required to smash that 3 hour mark on the 2nd October and would love it if you could donate even the cost of your morning coffee to my biggest challenge yet.

You can follow my running journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runrhysrun/