Category: Fundraising

Suzanne will take on four ultra marathons in four days, all decided on the roll of a dice…

Singer, Actress and wellbeing and running advocate Suzanne Shaw has announced she will undertake a gruelling four day challenge – completing four ultra marathons in four consecutive days following Mental Health Awareness Week, to shine a light on the mental health issues one in four people face every year.

Dubbed ‘Run in 4’ and as part of a documentary taking a deep dive into her own mental health journey and the complexities of the mind, Suzanne will tackle between 30 and 50 miles per day for four consecutive days, all decided on the roll of a dice the morning the challenge takes place. Suzanne will be undertaking the challenge alongside friend and National Running Show CEO Mike Seaman and is inviting runners across the country to join her on her run each day with the locations and timings revealed on her Instagram page.

The Challenge starts in Suzanne’s hometown of Bury, Lancashire on May 25th, finishing at London’s South Bank on the 28th. All monies raised during the challenge will go to mental health Charity, Mind.

Suzanne commented: “I have made no secret of the fact that I have struggled with my mental health over the years, despite spending decades trying to hide my struggles with everyone. Taking on challenges like this is a way for me to push my body beyond its limits but also to challenge myself mentally. I hate to think of so many people across the world struggling silently and being too afraid to stand up and say ‘I am not OK’ so hopefully by continuing to talk about my experiences I can help even just one person who sees what I am doing and delves deeper into the reason why.

“This is going to challenge me in ways I am scared to even fathom and I welcome support from local runners to keep me going and help pick me up when I need it most – hopefully by coming together over these four days following Mental Health Awareness Week we can all show that no one needs to struggle alone.”

As part of a documentary, Suzanne is on a mission to understand the complexities of the mind and why 1 in 4 people suffer with their mental health in some way every year. Speaking to experts, mental health sufferers and wellbeing advocates, Suzanne will deep dive into the subject whilst candidly sharing her own personal mental health story in more detail than she ever has before.

Suzanne became a member of the chart-topping band Hear’Say, selling over 1.5m records and holding a world record for the fastest selling non charitable single. She won series 3 of ‘Dancing on Ice’, was a series regular on ‘Emmerdale’ and has numerous West End & Touring theatre credits.

To make a donation visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/suzanneshaw

Indoor Relay, an initiative started by a group of friends during lockdown, has smashed its original target of £10,000 by raising a staggered £43,377 in just 28 days for five key charities that have been under increased pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event, kicked off by five-time Olympian Jo Pavey, ran for 682 hours over 28 days with the baton being passed to a new runner every hour. 425 individual runners took part covering a total of 3028.26 miles (from John O’Groats to Land’s End more than 3.4 times) around their gardens, houses and driveways. Along with Jo Pavey who opened and closed the event, Louise Minchin from BBC Breakfast, former Hear’Say star Suzi Shaw, endurance athlete Mimi Anderson and ultra-runner Susie Chan, all took part in the fundraising relay.

Started by a group of friends in the UK who were keen to do something positive during lockdown, the initiative raised funds for NHS Charities Together, NSPCC, Mind, Children with Cancer UK and Women’s Aid.

Aware that many people weren’t able to get outside to take their daily exercise, the team decided the relay should take place within the boundary of each runners’ home using a range of innovative ‘courses’ including balconies, driveways, gardens, treadmills, sitting rooms and even home-made obstacle courses. Participants were encouraged to be active during their hour by running or walking but there were some wackier options, including skipping, tango dancing and even shadow boxing! Over the 28 days, several participants came up with innovative ways to increase the fund-raising during their hour, including multiple fancy dress outfits, leg waxing, chilli eating, running barefoot on Lego, and ‘doughnut roulette’.

A team of 26 ‘Captains’ ensured that runners were accompanied at all times during the event and on behalf of the captains, Mike Seaman of the National Running Show, said: “The Indoor Relay has been a phenomenal success and we are immensely proud of what we achieved together as a community. Thank you to everyone who has given their time, donated money and helped raise awareness of this project. During this difficult time, the Indoor Relay has shown the power of exercise as a force for good and the amazing things that ordinary people can achieve when they work together.”

The team captains were: Mike Seaman, Raoul Monks, Allie Bailey, Elise Downing, Nikki Love, David Hellard, Liz Ayres, Victoria Owens, Aleks Kashefi, Anna Harding, Eric Keeler, Mollie Laurens-Chalmers, Zeph Brand, Lou Brewer, Laura Briggs, Cat Roberts, Emma Watson Horsewood, Antony Webb, Christopher Allen, Rob Walters, Natalie Doble, Linda Lawton, Danny Bent, Eric Keeler, Darren Pinder and Sharif Owadally.

The website was donated by Vatu and event support was donated by Raccoon Media Group.

For more information please visit www.IndoorRelay.com or contact [email protected]