From 12pm on Saturday 13th August, myself and 6 friends will be running the Spitfire Scramble http://www.spitfirescramble.co.uk which is a 24 hour trail race in Hornchurch Country Park.  Each lap is 5.9 miles and for the team event that we are taking part in it is a relay format with one person completing a lap and then the next person going with the aim of completing the maximum number of laps we can in 24 hours.  And yes, we will be running through the night so need to locate some head torches - hopefully we don’t run into any trees or fall into any of the lakes!

We have seven members on our team: Calvin Lindsay, Eric Fenn, James Tidman, Catherine Barker, Dave Matthews, John Crawley and Anna Crawley.  Each of us have different targets with runners aiming to run between two and six laps (12-36 miles per person) during the 24 hour period (I am aiming to complete 4 laps).  22-23 laps in 24 hours seems like a good target so in total 130-136 miles between us.  Team name is Worst Pace Scenario which seems rather apt.

If you are free it would be great if you could come over to support us.  Six of us will be relaxing at any moment whilst one of us is running so there should be a good atmosphere in the camp.

We will be taking part in this event on behalf of a couple of charities.  The first is Webber Street http://webberstreet.org/ which I help out at once a month.  In their own words:

Our team at Webber Street seek to meet the physical needs of the homeless with cooked breakfasts, cups of tea and coffee, hot showers and clothing. These are everyday things that most of us take for granted, but these simple acts of grace are transformative for the guests at Webber Street, restoring some of the dignity that life on the streets has taken from them. As one of our guests said, “Normally people look down on you but here, for three hours a day, I can forget I’m homeless.”

But Webber Street is about more than food and replacing old clothes. Our mission team offer friendship and support and seek to address the spiritual needs of our guests. Each day a member of the team shares the gospel leading to numerous spiritual conversations between team members and guests. One of London’s most challenging and inspiring ministries, Webber Street shares the gospel with one of this city’s most marginalised groups.

The second charity is Carers of Barking and Dagenham which aims to assist carers (whether it’s a parent or child, husband or wife, partner, close relative or friend) living in Barking and Dagenham to be able to have an improved quality of life by offering services and support to enable them to access services more easily through active participation in the joint planning and monitoring of community carer and service development. For more information, please visit http://www.carerscentre.org.uk/

Thank you very much for your support and any sponsorship you provide for these great causes.

Anna