Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

About My Challenge:

After successfully fundraising for the Community Foundation for Staffordshire in 2021 by completing my first ever trail race, a tough 25km event in the Peak District, this year I am looking to double down on the distance I run and my fundraising goal.

As a result, I have entered the Serpent Trail a 50km (31 mile) trail Ultra Marathon. This takes place on 6th July 2024 and is set to be a real test of how far I have progressed both as a trail runner and in terms of my general fitness.

The Serpent Trail is a long distance trail through some of the most breath taking countryside in the South East. The Serpent Trail 50k Ultra race is the southern half of the trail. Starting just outside Petworth and finishes in Petersfield running via a mix of paths and tracks on generally sandy trails that dry well, plus short sections of road.

You can find out more about the event here: https://www.serpenttrailrace.com/50km

Whilst currently, I'm fitter than I was in 2020-21 when I started running, stepping up to a 50k Ultra Marathon is a huge step as 2022's 25k (15.5 mile) event is still my longest race and since then I have run two half marathons, a 10k and a few cross country events.

In 2021-22 to prepare for my 25k race I covered 420 miles in my training and along the way lost c3 stone in weight. This year whilst I train, I expect to cover lot’s more miles and will post regularly here, plus on my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts with progress updates.

A Great Cause

This year I'm looking to support two fantastic charities the Gingerbread Centre, which supports homeless Families here in North Staffordshire and once again the Community Foundation for Staffordshire which supports a huge range of local charities and good causes across the county. I have a separate page setup for each cause.

You can check out The Gingerbread Centres website here:

https://gingerbreadcentre.co.uk/

If you are able to donate to my fundraiser any help you can offer will make a big difference.

If you are able to donate, I urge you if you are a UK taxpayer to complete the GiftAid declaration, it's really simple and means that on top of your donation, the government gives the selected charity 25p in every pound extra by donating tax you have already paid, thus the value of your donation grows but it costs you no more.

If you can’t donate, please share my fundraising page and help me reach as many people with this campaign as possible.

Any support you can offer to my fundraising will have a massive impact in spurring me on as I train 3-4 times a week over the months leading up to the race.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on, or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks for your support,

Andrew.