There was a buzz in the air as a mass of runners congregated in Bournemouth Gardens to collect their YMCA running vests in preparation for their participation in the Bournemouth Festival of Running. 50 runners have committed their support for the Bournemouth YMCA and are pledging to raise a minimum of £250 each for the Charity.
Vest sponsors and 10K runners, Paul Gowing, Director of Clean Force Support Services Ltd and David Waugh of The Waugh Group said, “We wanted to support the YMCA as we are very keenly aware of the superb work that they do for youth in the area. They operate the excellent entrepreneurial Shore Ideas initiative which does so much good for young people. We are delighted to be helping them.” Paul added, “I’ve even recruited some of my employees to join the YMCA Team as they were really eager to take part. As local businesses it’s really good to be supporting a local charity like this.”
Sheena Dayman, Fundraiser for the Bournemouth YMCA enthused, “We have recruited such a mix of runners, including Bournemouth Borough Councillors, an accountant, a tax specialist, a lawyer, a builder, an estate agent, a teacher, a police woman, church leaders, a fitness instructor and a PR Consultant! It’s fantastic to have such a diverse bunch of loyal supporters!”
Sheena continued, “I’m really impressed with how our runners are pushing themselves to try distances that they’ve never run before. We’ve got 8 running the half marathon, 8 running the full marathon, 24 completing the 10K and 10 running the 5k event. I would like to wish all of our runners every success in their forthcoming training and hope that they enjoy competing in the Festival of Running. We will have lots of YMCA supporters out on the routes, offering their support and encouragement. Many people WALK past the homeless but we’ve decided to RUN!!!””
Kate Shaw of Bournemouth based KTPR concluded, “I’m really looking forward to running in the 10K event. My training is going well and it’s a beautiful route along the sea front. I will be motivated knowing that I’m running for such a deserving local charity.”
The YMCA provides a range of services to support local young people, including those with disabilities. Anyone wishing to donate can visit one of the many JustGiving sites set up for the event including Paul Gowing’s
https://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Gowing1 and Kate Shaw’s
https://www.justgiving.com/kate-shaw10
