Miles for Meals
FITNESS enthusiasts staged a unique 24-hour virtual relay and raised £1, 360 for Mid Cheshire Foodbank. Keen runners Elaine Collins and Iain Borsbey teamed up with 80 people who ran, cycled, walked or crawled for 30 minutes throughout the weekend. The pair were inspired to come up with the Miles For Meals Virtual Relay at a time when normal exercise routines have been curtailed during the lockdown.
Runners from Winsford and Northwich completed their circuits during the day on Saturday and Sunday whilst people on the other side of the world in India and Australia mount their marathons during the night.
Some did their relay at home or in their gardens whilst others incorporated it into their daily exercises.
Iain Borsbey said: "We ran and cycled 279.63 miles across 42 hours without a break.
Elaine Collins, 40, from Northwich, said: “I wanted to try and bring people closer together in a time of isolation using the technology to hand. “Local charities have always been close to my heart and I particularly wanted to work with foodbanks due to the unprecedented strain they are under at this moment.
Elaine’s dad Dave Farrington and Karen Davies, recovering from cancer, who both live in Winsford, joined in with the event. Altogether almost 100 people have donated vital cash to the foodbank.
Fundraisers were challenged to come up with creative 'batons' for their relay.
Iain added: “We gave prizes for the most innovative ways of getting round."
Prizes were generously provided by sports equipment specialist the Rosebank Centre on Witton Street in Northwich.
A spokesman for Mid Cheshire Foodbank said: “It has been great working with Elaine. The idea is really novel and has attracted a lot of interest.”
Elaine added: “Mid Cheshire foodbank provides a vital role to the community where families can’t get hold of emergency food supplies.
“It is especially important in these times that funds are directed towards foodbanks as they come under additional pressure due to the increased demand, especially as the spread of Covid-19 takes its toll on the economy. It is hoped that we we can raise as much as possible to help the foodbank.
To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/miles4meals