My Story

100k Challenge for Yes Futures

Sun 24 Mar 2024 - Run Whitstable & Herne Bay Spring 10k - 01:41:15

Sun 7 Apr 2024 - BM10k - 01:48:41

Sun 12 May 2024 - Darent Valley 10k - 01:47:38

Sun 9 Jun 2024 - Orpington High Elms 10k - 01:59:28

Fri 5 Jul 2024 - Brands Hatch 10k -  01:43:08

Sun 18 Aug 2024 - Richmond Park 10k - 01:52:11

Sun 22 Sep 2024 - Vitality London 10,000

Sun 13 Oct 2024 - Petts Wood 10k 

Sun 17 Nov 2024 - Marden 10k (TBC - maybe I'll finally get to do this one!)

Dec 2024 - TBC

Attempt 1

Sun 24 Sep 2023 - Vitality London 10,000 - 01:45:18

Sun 8 Oct 2023 - Guildford 10k - 01:41:10

19 Nov 2023 - Marden 10k - injured

3 Dec 2023 - Chatham Dockyard Christmas 5k

The Why

Yes Futures empowers young people to believe in themselves and discover their personal potential. 

They develop young people's skills to prepare them for whatever future they choose by focusing on four essential skills of confidence, resilience, communication and self-awareness.

Their year-long intensive coaching and support programmes equip students aged 9 to 16 with the essential skills needed to succeed inside and outside the classroom.

Each student receives one-to-one coaching from a trained Coach, alongside two immersive extracurricular trips, empowering them to believe in themselves.

I first volunteered with Yes Futures as a Coach in 2018. At the time I was asked why I had decided to take the role. I thought back to my days at school and how, as a grammar school student, I felt I was expected to pass all my GCSEs with flying colours, stay on at sixth form to get my A-levels and go to university and get a degree before finding a job and being a success in the big wide world.

That's all well and good if you know what you want to do, but I didn't. I studied languages because it was the only subject I really enjoyed and was any good at but I didn't know what I wanted to do with it!

I don't regret my educational journey for one second - my degree gave me the chance to live in cities across Europe - but what if I'd known that I could have gone to college instead of sixth form and had a wider range of subjects to choose from? What if I'd done an apprenticeship? What if I'd gone straight out to work instead of carrying on studying? What if I'd had a Coach with whom I could explore my interests, strengths and options? What if I'd been able to take part in some amazing trips that pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me the chance to speak with adults who had already been where I was now?

That's exactly what Yes Futures does and it's why I will always support them, not only as a volunteer and employee, but I will big them up whenever I get the chance and fundraise for them when the opportunity arises.

Well, the opportunity has arisen. When a bunch of people from my local parkrun signed up for the Vitality London 10,000, I decided it was time to get back into running. This will be my first 10k in four years and will probably require a lot of resilience and self-belief on my part. All I ask is that you donate a small amount to this wonderful cause, or share my page if you are unable to give.