Thanks to the great efforts of our participants, hundreds of people have generously donated to the challenge and the £10,000 fundraising target was reached on day one.
Funds raised will go to the Mental Health Appeal, launched in 2020 to raise money to support the services on offer to students at Loughborough during these difficult times.
Participants represent a cross-section of the Loughborough community (even the four-legged kind), and each person has chosen a level of The £10k Challenge that suits them.
Alumnus John Knights is one of our oldest participants at 74, and he committed to running a 10k each day for seven days on a cross-trainer. John said:
I graduated over 50 years ago in 1969 [and] the attitude to fitness that was alive even back then has had a positive impact on my health and wellbeing - especially important as one gets older.”
John has raised almost £500, massively outdoing his original £100 personal target.
Freya Gibbs has openly shared personal experiences on her JustGiving page. Running 5k every day for ten days, Freya says:
Having support around you, the right support (which is different for everyone), and having accessible, open spaces for conversations about mental health, can make the challenges we face a lot easier to navigate.
I hope that as services like these become more accessible, and conversations grow to be more open, that fewer people will suffer silently, and there can be a shift in the way that mental health is addressed and perceived.
There are 24 people taking part from outside of the UK, including Dominic Bosher, based in Australia, Stephen Cole in Spain, and Yu Li in China. Alumna Diane Dorai, who heads up the international alumni group in Malaysia, has been running several kilometres every day, including a 10k a few days into the challenge.
Alumnus Sam Bassett, who is running ten marathons, has personally raised more than £1,000, whilst the Falk Egg Old Boys team are on track to reach £6,000 – their latest target having passed the £5,000 mark.
Staff groups, including Team ADR Plus (Associate Deans for Research) and the Academic Leadership Team, have also been contributing via running, cycling, walking, and more, and each team has raised over £800 each. Which team will come out on top?
The challenge began on 10 March and runs until 19 March 2021. You can find out more and check out the participants’ progress on JustGiving.