Running Marathon des Sables (MdS)

I am raising money for the Mountain Adventure Fund, a charity that takes inner-city children out into the countryside to experience the great outdoors. This is a charity I have volunteered for since 2023, and one that I have seen first hand the difference it makes to young peoples lives. This is only possible thanks to the support that Tewke, the startup I work for, is giving me to make this event and fundraising possible.

I was very fortunate to grow up in the British countryside, being exposed to nature, animals and the varied and wild weather that the UK has to offer. For me growing up, this opened my eyes to the incredible world we live in, but also inspired me to go and do more adventurous activities such as climbing Mt Blanc when I was 18, mountaineering in Russia at 21 and crossing the Sahara desert at 23. These experiences have shaped me into who I am today. From the soft skills learnt from being in teams in horrific mountain conditions and how to pull people together in difficult times, to the mental perseverance that is needed when working in the incredible startup world. Without my initial outdoor experiences I had growing up, I would not have known the rest of the outdoor world was accessible to me, and that is why I am raising money for MAF, to expose the great outdoors to those who might otherwise never know it exists.

The first time I volunteered with MAF, we took a group of ~30 school children from London to Wales. In that group were three girls who had never left the M25. This meant they had never seen cows, smelt fresh grass or heard the trickle of a stream. On a hike where we took them out into the Welsh mountains, they would shriek with joy every time they heard the trickle of a stream, and once they discovered that there was a stream every 50-100m on the path we were taking, they would run ahead of the group, and stand in silence listening to it whilst the rest of the kids caught up. It may seem like a small thing, but if you had seen the excitement on their faces, like me, I am sure you would think that a new window in their mind's had opened about what the world has to offer. Hopefully they will continue that fascination with nature to possibly become a marine biologist, doctor or outdoor instructor, something that may otherwise never have been on the table for them as a possible career path.

The Marathon des Sables is known as the world's hardest foot race. It is 250km through the Sahara desert, fully self supported - that means I will be carrying my sleeping kit, loo roll, plasters and all my food for the 6-7 days that it will take. At night it can get as cold as 1C, whilst in the day temperatures have reached 60C in previous years. I would not do this unless it was for a charity, it really is a crazy undertaking, my company Tewke have generously contributing to the event registration and I am looking to raise £10,000 to help the incredible charity that is the Mountain Adventure Fund, to give as many children as possible the outdoor experiences so many of us take for granted.

Thank you for your generosity and if you can, help me smash this target!

Mountain Adventure Fund: https://pyb.co.uk/mountain-adventure-fund/
Sponsor for the event - Tewke - Tewke.com