Story
(Race update at bottom of page.)
❄️🏃♀️💪🏋♀️
Elsa is taking on the Spartan Sprint to raise money for A Little Bit of Sunshine, a youth-led mental health charity, and to raise awareness of the need for properly funded early mental health support in our education system.
ELSAs (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants) are specially trained members of school support staff who help children learn about emotions, manage difficult feelings, build confidence and develop coping skills. But due to a lack of government funding, schools are cutting support staff hours, meaning support for children is being reduced.
Behind the costume is a serious message: too many children are facing fear, overwhelm, shame, loneliness and hidden complex trauma without enough support. This race is Elsa’s way of standing up for them and helping more children get the emotional support they need.
In England, about 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 had a probable mental disorder in 2023, which is why early intervention matters so much. The government’s expected changes by 2030 may help in the future, but they will not reach the children who are struggling today. Many children are already waiting months, and often years, for mental health and SEND support. Schools need better funding now, so children can access early emotional support before problems become worse.
The Spartan 5K Sprint is an obstacle course race combining trail running with 20 obstacles, held on off-road terrain with water and mud. It includes a 16ft rope climb, crawling under barbed wire, carrying 35kg stone boulders uphill, and pushing through when your body wants to stop. Elsa will be swapping heels for trainers to take part in a race that requires strength, courage and resilience. Many children have to find that same resilience just to get through each day.
This cause matters deeply to me, both personally and professionally, because I experienced mental health struggles as a child, have worked in the childcare sector for 20 years, and will soon be starting my third year of training to become a child psychotherapist.
It’s vital that children learn about emotions, not just academically, but as part of real life. Understanding feelings, emotional self-regulation, self-care and knowing how to ask for help are skills children can carry with them for life. Early emotional support in schools helps children build these skills before problems become bigger.
Please donate if you can to support A Little Bit of Sunshine in the great work that they do, and share this page to help raise awareness of the need for better early support for children.
Thank you!
The Spartan 5K Sprint is an obstacle course race combining trail running with 20 obstacles, held on off-road terrain with water and mud. After defering the May race due to a heavy viral illness, I will now be running on the 16th of August 2026 in Gloucestershire, hoping to beat my 2024 finish time. Last time, I finished 20 minutes below the average race time and completed every obstacle with no forfeits!
https://uk.spartan.com/en/race/sprint
About ELSAs:
https://www.elsanetwork.org/about/
https://www.elsa-support.co.uk/what-is-elsa-intervention/
Funding crisis and mental health in the news:
The Mental Health Foundation warns that rising psychological distress, especially among young people, is a major national crisis needing earlier support.
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/news/psychological-distress-one-countrys-greatest-crises
Schools and childcare settings in England are being forced to cutting SEND and support staff due to funding pressures, with many leaders warning more cuts are likely. In schools, “seven out of 10 (71%) leaders say they have cut down on teaching assistants (TAs) in the past year, while 49% have reduced support staff. The crisis could escalate as 81% warn of further cuts in the year ahead.”
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/apr/23/schools-forced-to-cut-back-on-support-for-send-pupils-in-england-poll-finds
NB: Support staff include ELSAs. Children with SEND are significantly more likely to experience mental health difficulties and need additional emotional support.
Race Update:
I’m gutted to share that I’ve come down with a heavy viral infection and have had to defer my Spartan race. I was so excited to take it on this weekend, but I’ll still be running the same race, just in Gloucestershire on the 16th of August.
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and supported me already. Every donation will go directly to the charity, and I’m still fully committed to crossing that Spartan finish line in August. An August heatwave won’t bother this Ice Queen… but I won’t be telling Olaf where I’m going..!