Today is July 1st, 2024. This marks the 268th day of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Like many others, I have been completely distraught keeping up with the news coming out of Gaza daily, but there really aren't any words left to describe it. Of course I've done what I can so far by amplifying Palestinian voices and trying to raise awareness on social media, boycotting, donating to various charities and displaced families, etc. But it isn't enough and the fact that we are collectively still allowing this genocidal campaign against Palestinians to continue, proves that. On the one hand, I've been extremely disappointed in a lot of people I used to think of quite highly, but on the other hand it has been very inspiring to see the Palestinian freedom movement getting more support than ever before. As you hopefully know, the current genocide may have been ongoing for 268 days, but the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians goes back over 75 years. While not as much as I do now, I have also spoken about this before the current genocide, for example during the 2021 massacre. Also, I would just like to mention that even though this shouldn't need clarifying, I also completely oppose antisemitism in any form. The Israeli government and its actions do not represent Jewish people as a whole. The following link includes some resources that you will hopefully find useful if you feel like you aren't fully informed about the whole situation. Please note that this is not my document and has been created by others. Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tDok9kGqHQAsVhc27kpLLvS8BIdUqNk09PfV1_vLmwo

As mentioned above, today is the 268th day of the current genocide, so throughout the month of July I will be running a total of 268km. That averages to about 10km a day if I take 4 rest days. Those of you that know me personally will know that I got back from a month of trekking on Mount Everest for a research project last month (the photo on the cover above was taken at about 4,800m!) and I have a bit of a bad knee anyway so it will be interesting to see how I cope with this challenge. I do run a lot in my free time but very rarely on consecutive days. I also haven't quite reached pre-Everest running levels yet. If I were to stick to my 'normal' running schedule, I would be running about 140-160km throughout this month, so this will definitely be a challenge. In the absolute worst case, I'll double the remaining distance and finish by cycling instead. So for example, if I absolutely cannot continue due to injuries after 200km, then I would double the remaining 68km to 136km and cycle that. But I absolutely plan on running the whole thing if I can! Distance updates will be posted daily.

The charity I chose for this fundraiser is HEAL Palestine. Through Health, Education, Aid, and Leadership, HEAL Palestine is working to provide every young Palestinian in Gaza a chance for a brighter future. Most recently, they set up a new field hospital in Khan Younis. You can find more information about them here: https://www.healpalestine.org/

I know many of us have donation fatigue by now, it is so hard especially in current times to set aside money for causes like this, and even harder to decide on which ones to support financially. If you can afford a fancy cup of coffee this month without having to think about the price, then you can afford to donate to this fundraiser. No matter how little, it all adds up and makes a massive difference. As we find ourselves in times where it is apparently controversial to be anti-genocide, please remember that you can also donate anonymously if you don't want your name publicly attached to this for whatever reason.

Thank you in advance for your support - whether that is through donations, sharing the fundraiser in your circles, or words of encouragement throughout the month. It really is appreciated.