Where has the time gone! In a weeks time I leave the UK to fly to South Africa and the start the Freedom Runners Project.
The first time Samantha and I discussed running this ridiculous distance of 2,350km along the Freedom Trail in South Africa was on the 26th August 2012, since then we have worked tirelessly on the project raising funds for both the Charity and expedition side of the run.
The last two plus years has been a HUGE learning curve for me personally. I find it very difficult asking potential sponsors for money and “cold calling” terrified me, I always worried that I would say something wrong and have the phone slammed down on me, but the worst they can do is say no! Putting together and sending out proposals to companies was something I had never done before but I think got the hang of it (with lots of help and advice from Samantha who is much better than me at that sort of thing) I’m certainly no expert but much better than I was! If after a week I didn’t receive a response I would either ring or send a reminder email, it made me feel very pushy and uncomfortable but needed to be done in order to get our project off the ground.
After all my hard work I either didn’t receive an email at all from the potential sponsor or I would receive one saying “sorry but ….” Finally one morning an email arrives with fantastic news that a company would like to sponsor us – happy faces, jumping up and down but the cycle of sending emails, phone calls and rejections continues.
I found myself going to parties or events and seeking out potential sponsors and chatting to them about the project – people must have started walking the other way when they saw me coming!
There have been many nights when I have woken up in the early hours with my heart trying to escape through my chest, my mind whirring like a tornado in my head thinking of all the stuff that needed to be sorted – it always seems worse at night because there is nothing you can do about but lie in bed and worry.
Organising a big event like this is tough, we have done everything from sorting out the route (with the help from the Freedom Challenge Race Director and Andrew King of D4 Productions), where to stay each night – this was tough as it had to fit as near as possible with our daily distances and sometimes we will have to be driven back to where we are staying then taken back to the same spot we finished at the previous night. Downloading the maps (there are loads of them!) and narratives then getting the route onto my Garmin, all this sounds easy on paper but takes months and months of planning.
The route itself isn’t an easy one to follow – it’s not marked and in many places there is no track to follow! We will cross rivers, pull ourselves over 3 metre high fences (that’s going to be amusing to see me try and do that!) and clamber up rock faces – all in a days work but we will see South Africa in all her glory an experience neither of us will ever forget.
We have a wonderful crew coming out to support us and as a team we will get to the finish line. I have a very strong image in my mind of Samantha and I running to the finish both holding our respective Country’s flags high above our heads and after 32 days of running/staggering/crawling we will have achieved our dream – makes me cry just thinking about it.
Friends in South Africa have been fantastic with their support, all of which has made our planning much easier and we are sponsored by some great companies who believe 100% in what we are trying to achieve with this project.
So, what is this run all about? Samantha and I always knew that when we started planning this project that we wanted to raise money for a cause in South Africa that would effect girls and women. Our aim is to raise awareness and money to enable Save the Children set up a social Enterprise Business in the Free State of South Africa. They will employ about a dozen women who will make re-usable sanitary pads that will be sold to the girls at a reduced cost, enabling the girls to remain in education.
Once girls reach puberty they miss out on between 4-5 days of school per month due to their periods and the associated challenges that they experience during this time. Many of the girls eventually drop out of school altogether which takes away their choices and ability to take control of their own lives in the future.
Did you know that 60% of girls and women in South Africa DO NOT have access to normal feminine hygiene products – can you imagine that ladies – we all take it for granted we can just pop down the road.
They are unable to afford to buy disposable sanitary pads as they cost more than the daily income of most working parents in Africa.
Cultural and social issues often inhibit their school attendance during their periods.
Here is a film that we put together about our project. http://vimeo.com/98837316
The re-usable pads that will be made by the social enterprise business will last the girls for between 3-5 years.
As well as giving the women employment, STC will also give support by giving work shops on Health & Hygiene, Life Skills Training and workshops for parents/students on the importance of attending school throughout the month and the consequences of absenteeism.
I have two daughters both of whom knew and understood what would happen to their bodies once they reached puberty, even so when their periods started they felt very self conscious going to school, didn’t like taking part in sport as they felt way too embarrassed that someone might notice or even worse perhaps their sanitary pads might leak and people would tease them. Imagine what it must be like for girls who don’t know about the changes to their bodies and even worse when their periods start they are unable to afford to buy sanitary pads – they end up staying at home using anything from old rags, rolled up newspapers and sometimes nothing at all, no wonder they don’t attend school. Hopefully with your support we can change this and give them a chance at the life they deserve.
If you would like to make a donation you can do so by going to www.freedomrunners.org and click on the donate button.
We will also have a tracker phone with us so you can follow our progress in real time as we run http://www.freedomrunners.org/thetracker/
Kit has been arriving left right and centre. I’m delighted that I have some fantastic Hoka One One thanks to Ultra Marathon Running Store stuff from Likey’s amazing custom made insoles from Profeet & as always great semi-compression/recovery gear from X-Bionic together with a host of other equipment that has been arriving in drips and drabs over the past week – take a look at my spare room bed and that’s not everything! (you will notice I have a supply of Twigglets as you can’t buy these in SA!)
I have put together a collage of my family that I will take with me and every time I need to feel loved or a bit of re-assurance I will look at the picture.
The training is now done and I’m officially on taper which is just as well as there is still an amazing amount to organise before I leave. I’m looking forward to seeing Samantha in Cape Town on the afternoon of the 19th September and meeting the rest of the gang.
I know I have said this before but this is by far the toughest and most challenge thing I have done to date. I’m terrified and excited at the same time – terrified that I something will happen and I won’t be able to finish, terrified that I will be too slow on the technical stuff and slow Samantha down, terrified I could fail – BUT excited because this is such a mega challenge, excited to be running with Samantha, excited to be seeing South Africa in all her glory, excited that after all the planning and preparation on the 24th September I will put my trainers on and start our 2,350km run across South Africa – WOW WOW WOW.
Photos by Andrew King
Happy Training
