A Burnham-On-Sea fundraiser is set to take on a gruelling 50km Ultra Marathon for charity in August.
Dave Dickson will be taking part in the event on Saturday 5th August on the Quantock hills to raise funds for two mental health charities.
He told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I have always been into fitness but I’ve never done anything like this before, however I’ve decided to set myself the challenge of doing an Ultra Marathon which is a 50 km (31 miles) run around the beautiful but unforgiving Quantocks.”
“After losing a close friend in November 2022 to suicide I wanted to be proactive and raise money for Mind & Papyrus so they can do their great work preventing suicide and supporting mental health particularly in young men.”
“If I’m honest, I’ve found training a bit tricky to be consistent – what with welcoming my first baby into the world last summer there’s been a lot to learn!”
“A lot of the training I’ve done has been on my own but I missed the social side of working out so decided to set up my own running group to promote a healthy lifestyle combining running with informal chats to encourage a healthy mind.”
“There is no pressure to talk, runners are welcome to join just for the exercise, normally averaging at 5km each session but I change the distance to suit who is in the group each week to be inclusive of all abilities. Please look up my Facebook group ‘Miles Better Running Group’ for more information and feel free to join in, everyone’s welcome.”
“I’ll be running my ultra marathon on Saturday 5th August, starting from Dunster. As daft as it sounds I’m hoping for an overcast or rainy day as anyone who knows me knows I don’t cope very well in hot weather let alone running a marathon in it too!”
“I’ve been blown away by all of the donations and sponsorships I’ve had so far, so thank you so much — it means so much. If you’d like to donate, anything at all, no matter how big or small, please see the link below.”
Dave’s fundraising page is available here.
