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The 50P Mission
| JUST HOW FAR COULD 50p GO? |
Our PR & Fundraising Co-Ordinator Dave Urwin is on a mission to raise £300,000 for Mind in Taunton and West Somerset. Let him explain…….
"A chain of events has occurred, during which I found out that if one per cent of the UK's population donated 50 pence to a cause it would raise £30,000……or so I thought! It turns out that my incredibly sloppy mathematical processes meant that I didn't bother to check this calculation, which was wrong. It would actually raise £300,000. This was when I had already told a number of people my wrong calculation, which at this point I still believed to be true, and I think the only way I can retain any dignity from this appalling mathematical misnomer is to actually try and make it happen. |
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In order to try and gain these donations Dave will be running a large catalogue of events during 2012. It will look a little something like this….
• January 29th - Hestercombe Humdinger (9.5 miles)
• February 4th – Thames Trot (50 mile Ultramarathon)
• March 18th – Surrey Spitfire (20 miles)
• April 1st – Exe to Axe (20 miles)
• April 15th – Brighton Marathon
• April 29th – Milton Keynes Marathon
• May 6th – North Dorset Village Marathon
• May 20th – Bristol 10k
• May 27th – BUPA London 10k |
• June 3rd – Run in the Wild 10k
• June 9th –
Dartmoor Discovery Ultramarathon (32 miles)
• June 24th – Torbay Half Marathon
• June or July (date TBC) – Cotswold Way Challenge (Just over 100 miles in 2 days through a combination of fast walking and a little bit of running.)
• July (date TBC) – Seaview 17 (21 miles)
• August (date TBC) – Salisbury 5-4-3-2-1 (31 mile Ultramarathon)
• September 16th – Great North Run
• October 16th – Norfolk Coastal Ultra (62 mile Ultramarathon) |
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He began the quest in late 2011, when he ran several events including the Somerset Levels and Moors Marathon and Royal Parks Half Marathon.
Here is a link to an article in the local press……..Dave continues, "I really think this could be a great way of fundraising; 50p is not going to break the bank for anyone, but if enough people do it then the results will be absolutely amazing. In order to get those donations I have to put myself through challenges that most people would not attempt.I would like to make it clear that I am by no means an elite athlete; I am just someone who likes running and likes to challenge himself and see what he is capable of. I am hoping that by pushing my own limits throughout the whole year then maybe that will be worth just 50 pence from enough people to make a massive difference. |
After all, you can't even buy a packet of crisps, a can of coke or a bar of chocolate for 50p in a lot of places these days. Some people have asked what motivates me to do these things; well the challenges provide motivation in themselves. You learn a lot about yourself through challenges like these, and the feeling of internal calm from completing one can be profound. However, inevitably as life moves on you will be faced with further obstacles, and so the runner's high does not last forever. That's why I am signing up for so many events; being someone who battles depression and anxiety myself, it is enormously helpful to have a focus, and to have things to work towards and look forward to. I am only racing against myself in these challenges, and I know that to complete them all I have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other until I get to the end. I have never done more than a 32 mile ultramarathon up to now, so some of these races I don't even know if I am capable of, but I'm sure looking forward to finding out."
If you wish to donate please visit www.bmycharity.com/daveurwin
If you do not wish to donate online but still wish to donate please contact Dave on:
01823 334906
or e-mail DaveUrwin@mindtws.org.uk
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