John O Groats Sign Post
Menna and her Dad
The lovely Menna Evans will be running the full length of Britain to help raise funds for The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales!
Her first race starts this weekend and we'd love you to give Menna some support! Her JustGiving page is open for donations which will be donated to us as she progresses through the incredible journey that she is about to embark upon. She tell us why she decided to take on such a mammoth task...
7 years ago, I sat with my Dad at his retirement party. He was 65 years old and looking forward to new adventures at the start of what should have been a well deserved break from work. He turned to me and asked "how would you like to walk John O'Groats to Lands End with me?" It didn't take me a second to reply, I jumped at the chance! You see, he had already walked around Wales several times with a group of youths as part of his role as Chief Executive the of Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales. I had always felt slightly envious of all the other kids but now was my chance to fulfil my Dad's mission, by his side, his proud daughter.
Unfortunately, his health deteriorated and he spent his whole retirement, in and out of hospital having had issues with several hip operations, and a stroke, all of which contributed to a decline in his general health. He was never going to get better and he then sadly passed away in March of this year.
So, I have now made it my mission. I want to RUN John O'Groats to Lands End (JOGLE) in his memory. He'll be with me every step of the way as he always is since I started training in March. I wear his chain on my wrist and a pendant around my neck with the words "follow in my footsteps". Both which will guide me during this mission.
I plan to do the JOGLE challenge during the summer of 2019. The distance is over 1,000 miles and will take over 4 weeks to complete. I'm aiming to run 25-30 miles every day (carrying everything I need) and then camping over night. Leading up to the challenge, I will of course be in training and have planned to do a few Ultra marathons in a bid to get my body adjusted to running long distances.
Some of the races that Menna plans to take on in the lead up to the finale run from John O'Groats to Lands End include:
- Cardiff Half Marathon - 1st October, 2017
- Gower Ultra Marathon - 11th November, 2017
- Brecon Beacons Trail Challenge - 5th May, 2018
- London Marathon (ballot entry, awaiting confirmation) - April, 2018
- Endurancelife Pembrokeshire marathon - 27th April, 2017 (if not successful with London marathon ballot)
- Preseli Beast - May 2018
- Dragon's Back - Summer 2018
- London to Brighton - 2019
... all while raising much needed funds to support our work for local wildlife. These are only a few of many races that Menna intends to do within the next 2 years. Other races will be added to the list in due course and update will be given on her JustGiving page and via WTSWW.
Please, if you can, help Menna raise her target for The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales by donating to her JustGiving page here.