380km Dragon's Back Race for the homeless and vulnerable

Dragon's Back Race

Twelve months ago, I did what many of us have done - I committed to something at the end of a long(ish) night. Normally, we'd wake up the next day, reconsider, and realise that maybe, at the age of 51, it's a bit unrealistic to take on something that most sane people would deem crazy. But I didn't back down. Instead, I've embraced the challenge. Starting on September 2nd, I'll be attempting the Dragon’s Back Race, an epic 380-kilometer ultra running journey over six days through the rugged Welsh mountains. But, before you call me mad, let me share why this matters.

This year, our company, Curious Universe, has chosen to support a charity called Genesis Trust, an organisation that provides immediate help to the homeless and vulnerable people of Bath and provides long-term support for them to journey from crisis to independence. The least I can do is lace up my trainers, put in the miles, and endure a little (or perhaps a lot of) pain to help support their cause.

Now, let me tell you a bit about the Dragon’s Back Race. This is no ordinary race. In the words of Shane Ohly, Event Organiser “no one starts this event with any sense of certainty. It’s just too far, too hard, with too many variables”.

Regarded as the hardest mountain race in the world, the Dragon's Back Race is a six-day event running across the mountainous spine of Wales, from North to South, covering a staggering 380 kilometres with 17,400 meters of ascent. When I signed up, I considered the large number of kilometres per day (ranging from 49km – 71km) but hadn’t fully understood the massive amount of climbing that the route entails, equivalent to 2 Everests! For those familiar with the Welsh mountains, imagine taking on not one but four peaks on the first day alone, culminating in the notorious Crib Goch. If you’re not familiar, I encourage you to Google it - it’s as terrifying as it sounds, especially for someone like me who is scared of heights!

I've been training solidly for the past nine months. In the last 60 days, I’ve gone out on 56 training runs, clocking 8-10 kilometres on weekdays before work and 30-40 kilometres on weekends.

To be clear, I am entirely self-funding this challenge, but I’m asking for your kind donations to support the Genesis Trust. Whilst the Dragon's Back Race is a monumental personal challenge, those that the Genesis Trust supports have challenges far exceeding this six-day race. Your generous donations will help provide compassionate support for people and see their immediate needs being met, it will go towards gaining confidence, learning new skills, overcoming challenges and enable them to make choices to restore and rebuild their lives.

My goal is to complete, not compete in this race, last year, only 22% of participants finished the challenge! Your donation is to encourage me to take on this adventure, not based on whether I successfully finish, unless specified of course (!). But for those of you who know me, rest assured, I will give it everything I've got!

Thank you in advance for your support and for helping make a difference through the Genesis Trust.