On 27th May this year, I will be taking part in a gruelling 10 mile /16km endurance challenge... running (or "tabbing") 10 miles, over an undulating and hilly cross-country course, while wearing military boots and carrying a 35lb / 16kg backpack, or “bergen” (approximately the weight of a 4 year old child). The race is based on the ‘10 Mile TAB’ ("Tactical Advance to Battle") that formed part of the P Company test week for Parachute Regiment recruits and is intended to assess physical fitness, mental robustness and determination. I have been training hard over the last 6 months and have clocked up circa 300km, with the dreaded backpack, so far!

Those that know me will know that I have never done anything like this before. The furthest I had previously run had been 10km, and I had only done this on a couple of occasions, and definitely not while carrying almost a third of my bodyweight on my back!!

Thankfully, I won’t be alone. I will be joined by circa 40 other volunteers all from the Alternative Investment sector and, together, we are hoping to raise much needed funds for Help for Children (HFC) UK, a registered UK charity. HFC is a partner charity to the investment industry, with a very specific mission to combat child abuse and to fund programs that help children who have been tragically affected by abuse. In January 2022, I became a voluntary board director of HFC and have had the privilege of meeting with some of the grantee charities that HFC helps to fund. I am therefore particularly passionate about raising money, having witnessed first-hand some of the incredible work these charities do to help some of the most vulnerable children and families in our local communicates. Globally, HFC has raised over $58 million to fund projects which have transformed the lives of over a million young people and children. The support and fundraising raised through sponsored challenges such as this 10 mile 'tab' make this possible.

I would be so grateful for any support you can provide to HFC UK by sponsoring me.

Thank you so much,

Catherine