By Lesley Naylor
The decision to run a 5 km race is not easy for someone who has never done any long-distance running before! Fundraising is also not the easiest of tasks. Luckily I was up for training beforehand and also, I was accompanied by three of my work colleagues, Sarah, her boyfriend Jez, and Elliott, who each decided to run a half marathon in the same Birmingham Fun Run! The one thing that none of us had any difficulty with was choosing which charity to run for.
We all work for CoachBright Charitable Trust, a charity set up to run coaching programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds so they can become confident, independent and resilient to lead the lives that they want. On the frontlines of education, we get to see it all: how schools are struggling with financial pressures due to funding cuts and rising costs; how thousands of teachers keep leaving the profession due to issues with pay and working conditions; increased anxiety and depression amongst young people; chronic absenteeism and how one in 50 children across the UK miss school because their families can’t afford transportation costs, uniforms, school supplies or school meals.
There were times when I felt like not doing the run! But I couldn’t let down the people who so generously donated and I can’t unsee and unknow the complex school issues I have just mentioned, particularly when I have a child of my own. So on race day, we were ready - as ready as we would ever be! (And let’s face it, what’s 5 km when compared to a 20 km half marathon?!)
We all smashed it and the sense of achievement was wonderful.
The entire course is set inside beautiful Sutton Park and we could run with ease along the windy paths. It was the perfect place to test out our abilities! The event is so popular that there are additional dates set too. The next run takes place on Sunday, 22nd December.
CoachBright is a relatively new charity. We’d love more people to support our work in the knowledge that every donation, however small, has a profound effect, enabling us to reach out to and positively impact more young people.
In the words of one young person, “Being coached was amazing, the best thing that happened to me this year. I feel much better about my future, I just wish all young people could have the opportunity to work with you.”
If you’re tempted to run for us, the CoachBright family will be there to cheer you on. Full details of the next run can be found on our events page here. We’ll adorn you with a t-shirt, encourage you with a training plan beforehand and show you how easy it is to set up a GoFundMe account. I’ll be doing another event for sure.
