So in the month of October I shall be taking on a challenge to swim 2km over the month ( 80 lengths) and also run 5km each week. This ties in neatly to the Beat 1-2- 5 Challenge( as 1.25 million people in the UK are currently affected by an eating disorder) as in 1 month, I plan to swim 2 km and then run 5km each week.

I am raising money for two charities that are close to our hearts- Beat and Coeliac UK.

Laila was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in April 2023. This auto immune disease affects the stomach if you eat even a crumb of gluten and the only treatment currently is a totally gluten free diet.

This restrictive diet in turn can have correlation to issues around eating/ food for some people, so we also want to support the work of the Beat charity too.

I chose the swim challenge because as you may know I only learned to swim properly at the tender age of 40! Even though I now swim weekly, I have butterflies and nerves before every swim session which in some ways may be similar to the nerves Laila experiences when she eats out since her Coeliac Disease diagnosis. The fear of getting accidentally glutenised from food and in turn becoming fearful about eating out is real for her as she fears sudden stomach cramps or sickness.

So if you are able to donate anything ( every penny really does count) towards one or both of these two great charities that honestly would be so appreciated.

Thanks so much

Farina xxx