Sarah Way, aged 47, from Deeside decided to keep busy and get fit during lockdown earlier this year and took up the Couch to 5k Challenge. This was no mean feat, as Sarah had not participated in sport since her school days and in fact avoided even running for the bus! She was initially unable to run for more than 60 seconds without being out of breath. After 9 weeks of hard training she graduated using the now popular App C25k, and was delighted to be running non stop for over 40 minutes.

In order to continue to progress, Sarah wanted to challenge herself further and nervously signed up for the #GreatManchesterRun 2020 which is to be carried out independently due to Covid restrictions. Organisers state: “We know that event day is only part of the challenge and our runners have probably put in many miles towards training already. So, if you complete the 10k or half marathon distance any time between now and the weekend the event was due to take place (Sunday 6th September), we will send you a medal (at no cost to you).”

Running the 10k challenge was not enough, and Sarah decided she wanted to create a fundraiser to raise money for the Neuro Therapy Centre. She knows first hand just how important the services of the Centre are, as her wife lives with Multiple Sclerosis and has personally used the services several times. Sarah said, “I want to challenge myself to support the Neuro Therapy Centre to provide a safe and supportive environment for people with neurological conditions and their families. The symptoms and stress of Multiple Sclerosis and other conditions do not simply stop because of a global pandemic, the Neuro Therapy Centre continues to need our support as every organisation is struggling to make ends meet at this time.”

Jane Johnston-Cree MCSP, Centre Director, at the Neuro Therapy Centre said, “We are delighted that Sarah is fundraising for us in our 35th year, particularly since so many of our planned anniversary events have had to be cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic. Individual fundraising is so important in helping us continue to run our services, which are now happening on-line, and to reach out to people who may benefit from our support.

We wish Sarah good luck with her challenge and hope that others may want to support her efforts by donating 

Throughout lock-down we have continued to support people living with a neurological condition, and their Carers, by providing on-line access to exercise and fitness classes as well as through a telephone support service. We have learnt that many people have really been affected by the stress and anxiety associated with lockdown, and this help has been a life-line to them. Having a friendly voice on the end of the phone can make such a difference to someone, and we have now made over 3000 calls to our members. In order to be able to continue to provide this level of support we need more people like Sarah to challenge themselves and complete a fundraising event.”

Many of Sarah’s friends and family have been very supportive, giving donations via her online fundraising page.

Cynergy Limited are a security and cleaning company based in Chester, covering many local and national areas. In light of recent expansion within the company, they are trying to offer more local employment opportunities, together with high level training courses for staff. The company has recently made a very generous donation to support this fantastic fundraising effort. Stephen Wickwar, Managing Director said, “We are very happy to be able to contribute towards a charity that is very close to our hearts. Our management team, together with myself personally all know people who are affected by neurological conditions. To be able to sponsor a charity event like this in the local community is something we are very proud to do.”

Sadly, there have been some incidents of local attacks, one of which was on a female runner following the same route that Sarah has been training on during the past few months. This has made Sarah feel more vulnerable, especially during the lockdown situation when being able to get out and feel free has been vital for her mental and physical wellbeing. Sarah said, “I now love running, it makes me feel good about myself and I get to enjoy the local outside environment. Thank you so much to everyone that has taken time to donate to my fundraiser. I will be going live on Facebook on Sunday 6th September in the morning and I will share photos too. I’m looking forward to finishing the challenge now and I really hope the weather is kind on the day.”

If you would like to sponsor Sarah and help raise more funds for the Centre, please visit the online sponsorship page here: https://www.neurotherapycentre.org/fundraisers/sarahs-mygreatmanchesterrun-10k-challenge