We had a team of runners take part in this years Manchester 10k for Manchester City of Sanctuary. We’re happy to say that we’ve currently raised £375 which is amazing but we still have time to hit our target of £1000!
All our runners were raising money for Manchester City of Sanctuary. They ran to raise money for English classes so our Sanctuary Seekers can access education and can build their language ability. A great confidence in English leads to a greater ability to engage and interact more effectively and participate in society more. Therefore reducing loneliness and isolation and supporting positive mental health.
Here’s the link to sponsor them and it will remain active for donations until the 9th June. Go on, you know you want to! https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cosrun/465862.
We caught up with one of our runners, Liz Hibberd (our Development Assistant) as she reflects on the day:
“On one of the hottest Sunday’s in May (or so it felt), I set off to undertake my first 10km! I’ve been a ‘runner’ for around a year and a half but I’ve stayed around the 5km distance and felt comfortable there. But I was looking for a challenge and so it came in the form of the Great Manchester Run.
I trained for around 2-3 months but there were many distractions and barriers, including working away, family commitments and the usual reasons for not practising enough! Before Sunday 20th, I’d only ever run 10km once….so I was nervous. Especially since my co-runners were all confident and capable runners, many of them running much further on a regular basis!
I was due to run in the pink wave which set off at 3pm. The day seemed to last forever as I waited for it to be time to head to the city centre. Once I got there I was swept up in the positive, friendly atmosphere. I met up with Kouame, another runner from City of Sanctuary and we posed for some photos and got ready to start. We weren’t able to see the other runners running for City of Sanctuary but we knew Helen, Eve and Jeanne were somewhere among us, and although Sally hadn’t been able to take part due to illness we knew she was there in spirit.
When the starting horn was blown by Mo Farah we were off, while kind of! It was slow as so many people squeezed through the starting point but it soon eased out as people settled in to their own rhythms. Kouame was much faster than me and was long gone but I steadied myself and got ready for the long haul. And it was long, and it was tough, really tough. I tend to run in the morning or the evening when it’s cooler so the heat was very challenging. But the encouragement from the crowd was fantastic and really kept me going. So did the music; there were school bands, choirs and DJs keeping the atmosphere lively and pushing us to the end.
I couldn’t believe it when I finally saw the finish line and I tried to speed up for the end…and I’d done it. It wasn’t fast but I hadn’t walked and I’d surprised myself by beating my personal target – a great end!”
To sponsor our team of runners to help raise money for English classes so our Sanctuary Seekers can access education and can build their language ability, please donate via the mydonate link here: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cosrun/465862