Next Saturday, James Higgins will be taking part in The Marlborough Downs Challenge. This is a brutal 33 mile race through the beautiful Wiltshire countryside with over 3000 feet of climbing. The race promises to be a challenge, with no route markers and is almost completed mostly off road.
A keen runner, James has taken part in long races in the past, most recently, the Barcelona Marathon – the city in which he currently lives. As James hobbled to work the morning after, he came to the conclusion that his race in May is going to be extremely painful. It’s the furthest he’s ever run, so has decided to make the miles count and do this one for charity.
We are thrilled that James has chosen to support ATE. He is very familiar with our work as his mother, Sara Thompson, is a long standing volunteer who makes fantastic contributions to our work. Sara has told James how much her work with ATE and time in Lawra has affected her, passing on her enthusiasm for the sustainable development work ATE carries out in Ghana.
James’s target for his fundraising is £300. This amount of money will buy a fantastic 1500 school lunches for children at ATE’s schools, relieving hunger and encouraging children into school. For the children ATE are working with, this school lunch makes a world of difference, often being the only meal they will eat in a day.
Until just 2 weeks ago, James wasn’t sure he’d be able to run the 33 miles. Painful knees from his last marathon were stopping him from training and he was worried they wouldn’t recover in time. Luckily, he’s now fighting fit and excited to take on the challenge. Last weekend, he walked the full length of the Ultra Marathon and is feeling confident that he can run the full route in under 7 hours.
We are so grateful to James for taking on this huge challenge for ATE and wish him lots of luck.
To help keep him motivated, please consider sponsoring him at the following link: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/jameshiggins1