Onwards & Upwards … the tricky second album!

The very first thing I said when I finished last year’s IOW Ultra was ‘never again!!’ Yet here we are… Last year’s challenge was brutal but quite honestly one of the best things I have ever done 🌟 Walking these same paths in the months since has felt like visiting old friends 💚 And like old friends we have fallen horribly out of touch and yearn to reconnect; as with many things we know are good for us, prioritising & keeping up with them often requires a lot of time, discipline and motivation 💪 So - here we go again! 🥾 Life this Spring will mean I have much less time to train for it than last year, so I’m going to have to work really hard to make it happen and just do the best I can 👣

This time I will be fundraising for local independent charity IOW Youth Trust. I feel very blessed to work with young people every day and share in their journey as they navigate school, identity, family, friendships, relationships and their journey into young adulthood. I also see the stress, pressures, struggles & difficulties so many young people are facing.  

As part of my role at school I work closely with the Youth Trust and see first hand the amazing work and incredible impact their team can have. As a charity their vision is for an Island where children and young people’s mental health needs are well recognised and supported; and their mission is to listen to and work with young islanders and their families so they can get the help they need, when they need it, to support their mental, and emotional wellbeing. They work closely with us and our students, and Islandwide campaign for change that has a positive impact on young people.

For me, this year’s ultra represents the resilience & strength needed to keep going in our journeys, and a springboard for conversations with the young people I work with on this very subject, as well as hopefully inspiring them to set their own aspirational goals and engage themselves with community-level action. I also hope it may raise awareness of the crisis facing young people’s mental health services, and the profile of the Isle of Wight Youth Trust and the work they do with young people here on the Isle of Wight; children’s and young people’s mental health services continue to be considerably under-funded relative to demand, and millions of families across the country are experiencing the everyday reality of a young person living in distress

I’m not aiming to break any fundraising records or anything but would be very grateful for any donation you can make to help me reach my target. In supporting the Youth Trust, you can be sure you are making a real difference to children and young people on the Isle of Wight, and help secure better, brighter futures for them as they move forward - onwards & upwards 🌈