Staff run for Red January!

Two members of the Sibford community have been getting active for RED January.

Sarah Swainson, Exams Office has written about RED January:

'Since the 1^st January, Sukey Symes, Head of Early Years and I have been undertaking a charity challenge called RED (Run Every Day) January. The challenge is to exercise everyday throughout January in aid of the official charity partner of MIND; Sport in Mind. Sport in Mind is a mental health charity that uses sport to empower and improve peoples’ lives.

RED January was founded in 2016 by Hannah Beecham. She was inspired to do this after witnessing the transformative effect that regular exercise had on her Mum as she recovered from a period of severe depression.

This will be the fourth year that I have participated in RED January, as MIND is a charity that is very close to my heart. I don’t mind admitting that I am somebody who has to work hard to stay mentally well. As a young person, I had quite significant issues with my mental health and I am very grateful for the support that organisations such as MIND were able to offer to me. Thankfully, I now have enough tools, self-awareness and determination to stay well. I know how important the ‘basics’ are; enough sleep, a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise. I consider myself privileged to have wonderful people around me, and who rely on me both personally and professionally, and I owe it to myself and those people to stay well!

Being part of the REDTogether community motivates me to exercise regularly, but also has the benefit of raising vital funds for MIND. MIND are currently dealing with what they are describing as a ‘mental health emergency’, as the coronavirus pandemic is having a huge effect on our mental health. Not only this, RED January work together in partnership with the University of Oxford to use data provided by participants, on the impact of regular exercise on their mental health, as part of their research.

My personal target for the month was to be able to run 5km comfortably by the end of January. I have exceeded my target, and ran my first 5km without having to walk on 6^th January in 34 minutes and 13 seconds. I have now improved this time with a personal best of 31 minutes and 55 seconds. I’d really love to have the time below 30 min by the end of the month, but those of you know have met me will know that I am quite short, and I don’t think I will ever be particularly fast! I have short legs! That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! I have clocked up 49 miles so far this month, with my longest run being just over 4 miles. Sukey has nearly 18 hours of tracked exercise since the 28^th December. What an amazing achievement? Her two daughters have even been inspired and joined her on some of her runs.

At the time of writing, Sukey and I have raised £625 of our £1000 target! We are incredibly grateful for all of the donations that we have already received. If you would like to support us in our challenge, you can sponsor us here.

For more information on RED January and the RED Together community please visit: www.redtogether.co.uk

Click here for more information on the fantastic work of MIND: The Mental Health Charity and Sport in Mind.

Flickr album: RED January 2021 | Height: auto | Theme: Default