Kinaxia’s operations excellence manager Rachel Hartley and her flatmates have raised nearly £2,000 for Manchester United and England football legend Michael Carrick’s charity by completing a marathon with a difference – and that was just for starters!
Rachel, Lydia Heerey and Zilah Chaudhry ran a mile around Wilmslow in Cheshire where they live on the hour, every hour to complete their marathon. They began their mission at 5pm on Friday and ran the last mile at 6pm on Saturday.
The trio were joined at various intervals by relatives, colleagues and friends running in socially-distanced formation. The guest runners included Michael’s wife Lisa. Michael also sent the trio a video message wishing them good luck.
Now the pals have embarked on the second leg of their fundraising efforts for the Michael Carrick Foundation, which provides opportunities for young people through community projects.
They will be running, walking or cycling five kilometres each day during December, clocking up a total of 465km.
So far their endeavours have raised £1,951 for the charity.
Rachel, 27, said: “The Michael Carrick Foundation is a fantastic charity that supports young people by unlocking their sporting potential, developing their skills and resilience and helping them to become positive figures in their communities across Greater Manchester and Tyne and Wear.
“Zilah plays netball with Lisa and did the 5km challenge last year. She was doing it again this year, and Lydia and I thought we should give it a go too. The marathon idea was just decided upon during a night out and something we set out to do as a bit of a challenge to ourselves during the second lockdown.
“We really pushed ourselves to the limit. The sleep deprivation was tough, but we had a little nap between some of the miles, me more than the others!
“It was well worth the effort though, as we have managed to raise an excellent sum of money for a brilliant cause.”
Michael posted on the Michael Carrick Foundation’s social media platforms: “A huge thank you to these three superheroes. Every penny will go to support disadvantaged young people.”
Rachel said the trio appreciated the support of those joining in the run with them, and the dozens of friends and relatives who turned out to cheer them on.
Among those who came to run a mile with the trio was Trevor Dickenson, northern compliance manager at Kinaxia, who ran a mile at 6pm on the Friday and 5am on the Saturday.
Rachel also thanked Jason Bradley, the operations manager at Kinaxia company AKW Global Logistics, who provided hi-visibility vests for the trio. You can donate to the trio’s fundraising appeal via this link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lydia-heerey
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