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Emily Lynch

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Reach My Goal

Raised

£254 + £43.74 GiftAid

My Goal

£300

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£51
£77
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My Activity Tracking

24
mi

My target 26 mi

I’m running a marathon in January to help families fight hunger and the climate crisis.

Those of you who know me well, will also know that I absolutely HATE running. I can't even (and would definitely choose not to) run for a bus. 

Rather foolishly I've decided to take on the challenge of running 26.2 miles between 1st and 22nd January - that's my birthday and a whole marathon! - to help families in rural Africa fight hunger and the climate crisis.

This is going to be BRUTAL, but it's for a great cause...

Did you know, that by the second week in January, the average person in the UK will have created a greater carbon footprint than a single person in Ethiopia will account for in a whole year? Those who have contributed the least, are suffering the most from the effects of the climate crisis.

Because of this shocking statistic, on New Year's Day I'll be lacing up my somewhat dusty (some would say unused) trainers, and putting on actual exercise wear to hit the pavement in return for COLD HARD CASH. 

My 26.2 miles will be joined with others to help travel 30,000 miles (that’s an incredible 60 million footprints for good!) from the UK through rural Africa as part of Send a Cow’s virtual relay.

Please donate to my challenge! Reaching my target of £300 could help 15 families living in rural Africa with vital tools, seeds, and training in sustainable farming, soil health, and rainwater harvesting, so they can stand up to extreme weather and grow enough to fight hunger.

Please donate whatever you can spare for an amazing cause. 

For more information or to take part, visit: relayforhope.sendacow.org

My Achievements

50% fundraising reached

Uploaded a profile pic

Raised £60

Shared page

Increased goal

My Updates

Woahhhh I’m half way there, wooooahhh, living on a 🙏🏻

Thursday 13th Jan
OMG I’ve managed to run over a half marathon in just over a week 😮 That’s massive for a bum like me. 

Low lights of tonight’s run include:

- A toddler shouting at me: “Don’t stop now!” when slowing down to a slow jog
- A teen on a scooter taking one look at my sweaty face and saying “f**k that” to her mate 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you feel sorry for me, please drop me a donation to my fundraising page.  Thank you to everyone who’s donated to me so far - I love you all and you’re truly keeping me going 💋

WOO! I ran over 5k!

Tuesday 11th Jan
I completed 3.3 miles tonight (that’s over 5k!) in the cold and dark. Yuk.

Finding myself running for longer now and having to break less - regulating the breathing and listening to my body to keep the old side stitches at bay!

Thanks so much for all of your incredible support and donations so far - over 10 miles completed now - nearly reached the half way mark 🙏🏻

My longest run so far! Plus, what I’ve learnt as a novice runner

Sunday 9th Jan
WOAH! I’ve gone from never running, to running over 7 miles this week - with 3 rest days in between. 😳

Today I completed my longest run at just over 2 miles - I’m proud of myself and actually (shock horror!) starting to enjoy running! 

Three things I’ve learnt from my first week of being a novice runner:

1. EATING IS NOT CHEATING:
Don’t be a dick and make sure you eat properly and give it at least 2 hours before running after your last meal. Equally don’t leave it too long after eating as it’s guaranteed to hurt! 

2. WARM UP PROPERLY
Sounds obvious but I was so excited to complete my first run, I completed all of 30 seconds swinging my arms around before heading out of the door and getting a stitch before hitting mile 1 #embarrassing 

3. MASTER YOUR BREATHING
This has proved the most valuable lesson for me! During my first three runs, I kept getting a crippling side stitch and on run number 4, realised it was because my shallow breathing was restricting oxygen to my body. I’ve found that inhaling for 2 strides and exhaling for 2 = no side stitch and my longest run so far! 

I’m attempting to complete 26.2 miles this month (that’s a whole marathon distance) to help families in Africa fight hunger and the climate crisis. If you’d like to sponsor me for my pains (🙏🏻) you can do so by clicking the link in my bio - thanks so much to everyone who’s donated so far, you’re truly keeping me going 💪🏻❤️

Upping the anti - 26.2 miles it is!

Wednesday 5th Jan
Well, thanks to your amazing support I’ve just reached my £120 target, so even though I’m finding this challenge excruciating enough (only 3 miles in) I’ve decided to up the anti a bit in return for COLD HARD CASH….

I’m now going to (attempt to) complete 26.2 miles (yep, that’s a whole marathon) by 20th January. If you’re not the best mathematician (I’m not that great) this will involve me dragging my poor bedraggled legs outside in the freezing cold every other day for at least 2 miles. To put this in context, last night I ran 1.6 miles and got a stitch so bad, I almost called 999.

So if you’re able, please donate any spare pennies if you can. 🙏🏻

Raising £300 will empower 15 vulnerable families living on the frontline of the climate crisis to grow their own food and fight hunger - and what’s more important that that?💪🏻🌎

Second run - not as fun

Tuesday 4th Jan
Second run today  - this time at night and in the freezing cold! Found it easier on the old lungs this time and was able to run further, but just as I was getting cocky, was taken by surprise half way by a crippling side stitch that I couldn’t shake off. Persevered to complete another 1.6 mile run - 4 minutes faster than my first (at 16 mins) but forgot to press stop on the record button so Strava logged as 18 mins 🥳

All the gear, no idea: my first run.

Sunday 2nd Jan
OMFG. I did it. I went for my first run today in over 15 years and survived 🙏🏻

How was my first run, you ask? My lungs burned, my legs floundered, my sweat glands went into hyperdrive: in short, I hated every second, BUT I kept going for what felt like 15 miles, but was actually 1.6 miles 💪🏻

I’m attempting to complete a half marathon this January for a really great cause: to help families in east Africa fight hunger and the climate crisis. ❤️

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far to help me reach my goal of raising £120. If I hit my 13.1 mile target early I might increase my miles 😬

Thank you to my Sponsors

£30

Lucy Sale

Keep going! 👏🏼

£26.25

Benephanie Brook

💪🏼💖

£26.25

Sarah Watson

Good on you, Emily!! xx

£21

Paul Lynch

£21

Anna Brook

👏👏👏

£21

Emma Nichols

Amazing! 🥰🏃‍♀️

£20

Mary X

Sooo impressed! Keep it up Lynch xxx

£15.75

Louise Bell

£13.65

Rob Baker

Brilliant well done must get back to it myself ❤️

£10.50

Ian Hallsworth

Good luck! Ian

£10.50

Jasmine Manley

Well done Emily! You can do it! Xx

£10.50

Ian

Good luck smashing your distance target and your fundraising target xxx

£10.50

Candice Holdsworth

Good luck! Running is hard to begin with but gets easier the more you do it.

£10.50

Jonno Ball

Keep on keeping on Emily!

£5.25

Anonymous

You can do thiiiis. Run Lynchy legs run!

£1.05

Ash Gelderblom

Good luck racking up the miles

Our Team