563,540 meters for MYTIME!

In 2024 I had to have my ankle rebuilt... I had damaged the ligaments beyond anything the physio could fix and needed to have a big ganglion removed that had been pressing on the nerves and causing me pain for years.

I spent 6 weeks in a cast and a boot, then months of physio and learning how to use it again. In truth none of this was much fun and had a massive impact on how active I could be.

2025 is the year this all changes! I am taking on some monster challenges and I am both terrified and buzzing. I will run, hike, ride, and run a mammoth 563,540 meters in total and I am hoping to raise 10p per mile, which will help to provide 1000 young carers with a Making Memories Day in 2025.

This year I will be:

*Running the Bournemouth Half Marathon in March

*Doing the 3 peaks challenge in June

*Riding from London to Paris in July (having never ridden a road bike!)

And....

*Running the Sydney Marathon

Why do young carers need support?

This is all in aid of my favourite charity MYTIME Young Carers, who support young carers across Dorset and the Isle of Wight and the country... just like Sarah...

Meet Sarah. Sarah’s mum has complex mental health issues and has to use a wheel chair to get around. Sarah has been caring for her mum since she was just 5 years old and looks after her younger brother, Sam.

Sarah does a lot to help her mum, but it’s not easy. Her mums mental health is up and down, and when it's down she cannot get out of bed for days. Sam needs a lot of support, he's only little, and Sarah does everything she can to make sure he is happy, fed, and protected from the scary moods which her mum can experience when she is not in a good place.

Sarah is exhausted and she is scared.

She is worried about her mum, she is worried about whether there will be enough money for food, whether they can keep the house warm, and why her mums health seems to be getting worse and worse.

She protects Sam as best she can and keeps smiling to make sure he doesn't know how worried she is.

Sarah is finding it so difficult to keep up with her schoolwork and she worries about her future and Sam's. She desperately wants the doctors to find a way to help her mum, but there doesn't seem to be anything she can do.

Most of all, Sarah feels alone, even though there are an estimated 1,000,000 young carers in the UK today.

MYTIME exists to level the playing field for young carers like Sarah, by providing them with the support, opportunities, and friendship that every child needs and deserves.