Running4Rwanda

It's December already, and that can only mean one thing - the Liverpool Santa Dash! The biggest, the best, and the funniest in the UK, and possibly the world! I've run it every year since it started back in 2004, making me one of only a handful of runners / joggers / walkers to have completed all 12 stagings. Many of the 10000 taking part will be raising money for charity, and I'm no exception. Once again I'll be raising funds for Shyira Trust, a small charity I helped set up in 2006. Since then we've raised over £300,000 for the various projects we support. This year, I'll be supporting the building of a new maternity hospital for Shyira in Rwanda. The old one that we funded has been so successful, and has had such a positive impact on maternal health, that it is full to overcrowding, and requires a new building. Please help Shyira Trust to continue its great work by donating any amount, big or small, to this great cause. Every penny received by Shyir...

More details soon, but in the meantime, there's a fundraising page at myDonate

After successful Run(s) and the Walk, the Ride was due to take place during September. Then, due to ill health, it was postponed until October. And then postponed for a second time due to bike problems. A second bout of illness, and the shortening days has made it impossible to plan a safe bike ride of more than 100 miles. So, with heavy heart, I have had to postpone the Ride part of the Run Walk Ride for Rwanda. Note that this is a postponement, not a cancellation, and it will take place at the earliest opportunity. There is even a possibility that it will take place in Rwanda - riding with the TeamRwandaCycling team from Ruhengeri in northern Rwanda, in February 2016. If it doesn't happen then, it will take place as soon as the days get long enough in March or April. So thank you for your support so far, and watch this space in the New Year. In the meantime, watch out for the annual extravaganza that is the Liverpool Santa Dash, on 6th December 2015

Thanks to everyone for supporting the 'Walk' leg of my Run, Walk, Ride 4 Rwanda challenge. Having done the 'Run' leg in July, I just managed to squeeze the walk into August, walking it on Monday 31st August. I caught the 6:56 train from Freshfield to Hunts Cross, then walked the near 27 miles back, mainly along the Liverpool Loop and Cheshire Lines paths. Starting walking just before 8am, I made steady progress, taking my first short break six miles later. Near Aintree, there was a short unscheduled stop when meeting a former work colleague, last met in 2001! Then more steady progress before taking a short lunch break having covered almost 19 miles in five hours. Up to this point the weather had been kind with just a few spots of rain very early on, but in the afternoon there was torrential rain, making the last 8 miles a bit slower, but still respectable, covered in less than two and a quarter hours. Thanks to everyone who has supported me, and made the journey ...

The first leg of Run Walk Ride for Rwanda is the BTR Liverpool Tour of Merseyside - itself a multi-stage event of six races in seven days Sun 5th July:   Southport half marathon - 13.1 miles Mon 6th July:  Thurstaston beach race -  6.1 miles Tue 7th July:   Sustrans 10 mile race - 10 miles    Wed 8th July:  A well-earned rest Thur 9th July: Halton 5 mile race - actually 5.1 miles Fri 10th July:  Huyton cross-country - 6 miles Sat 11th July:  Wirral coastal run - 12 miles A total of 52.3 miles, just about a double-marathon distance. The event(s) went as well as could be expected, with some good results and some not-so-good. I wasn't looking forward to the half marathon and struggled between 5 and 10 miles, but recovered to finish in 114th position. Monday was hard, especially on the beach, and I finished 118th. I felt better on Tuesday and finished strongly to take 106th. Wednesday was a welcome break, and Thursday...

After cycling in the Scottish highlands, back to running. Or more accurately, running, walking and riding. Over summer I will be completing 182 miles - the distance of seven marathons - in a series of events: Run the BTR Liverpool Tour of Merseyside: six races in seven days, totalling 52 miles - a double marathon Walk the Liverpool Loop and Cheshire Lines paths from Hunts Cross to Formby - a marathon walk Ride to Southport and on to the Forest of Bowland and back via Preston - a quadruple marathon The events will take place during July, August and September, and I will be hoping from support along the way. More importantly I will be looking for sponsorship to help fund the rebuilding of Shyira Maternity Hospital. It needn't be much - I'm not expecting a pound per mile or anything like that, although £182 would be very welcome. Even a penny per mile would be welcome! So if you want to make a difference to the lives of women and their babies in Rwanda, please spons...

After 30 years of running, and 10 years of Running 4 Rwanda, a new challenge awaits - my first cycling even in aid of maternal health and safe motherhood in Rwanda. The Etape Caledonia is 82 miles in the Highlands of Scotland, starting and finishing in Pitlochry, Perthshire. Not much for a seasoned cyclist, but I'm not much of a cyclist, and definitely not seasoned, but I'm confident I'll get round. Please support me to help the funding of these projects in Shyira, Rwanda, by clicking the button on the right. Your support is vital, so please be generous. Thank you

One of our regular supporters can't make it to the Liverpool Santa Dash this year, but still wants to support us, so has come up with an alternative method of raising funds for the Maternity Hospital and Safe Motherhood projects in Shyira, Rwanda - he has given up shaving, and is growing his very own Santa 'tache ! Martin Baxter has run most of the Liverpool Santa Dashes since its start, but this year he will be growing a Santa beard and a Santa 'tache instead. He has given up shaving during November, so by the time December comes round he will have a beard to rival any on show at the Liverpool Santa Dash. If you would like to reward his solo effort, he has set up a fund-raising page on www.bmycharity.com , so please support him as he supports Maternal Health in Rwanda

It's back! Liverpool Santa Dash - the biggest Santa Dash in Britain, and maybe the World ! From humble beginnings in 2004, the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash has grown year on year to become the phenomenon that brings over 8000 Santas to the centre of Liverpool. And for 2014, the biggest and best promises to be even bigger and better on its 10th anniversary - the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash is aiming to bring over 10000 Santas to the centre of Liverpool, many of them raising funds for charity. I have run in every BTR Liverpool Santa Dash, and once again, I will be running for Shyira Trust, raising funds for the Maternity Hospital and Safe Motherhood projects in Shyira, Rwanda. In previous years we have had a team, as many as 15, but this year there may be just me. But however many we have running, we will have fun, while Running for Rwanda. If you would like to help, you can, and you have two choices - you can join me, get sponsorship, and we can all run for Rwanda. Alternatively, t...

It's taken a while, but I've finally decided what to do to celebrate 30 years of running. In fact, it's taken me so long to decide, that it's actually just about to start. I had thought about running 30 miles, but on medical advice I can no longer do 'endurance' events - i.e. I can't run a Marathon, or anything over about a half-marathon Then I thought about walking 30 miles, but that would probably take too long. Or cycling 30 miles - probably not enough of a challenge. So why not somehow combine all three? So that's the plan - run about 30 miles, but split over three events; walk a similar distance; then ride my bike, but over double the distance. The final details of the walk and the bike ride still need a bit of working out, but here's the running leg(s): Tour of Merseyside Race 3 - 10-mile Sustrans cycle trail from Walton Hall Park Tour of Merseyside Race 4 - 5-mile Halton Road Race around Hale Tour of Merseyside Race 6 - 12-mile Wir...

Making a change from running and cycling, something a bit more sedate, but every bit as challenging - walking 27 miles for Rwanda. Three supporters of Shyira Trust will be embarking on their challenge on Saturday 26th April. They will be walking in the Lake District, from just outside Keswick, via Grasmere, Elterwater and Coniston to Lowick. From their fund-raising website: Three of us will be walking 27 miles to raise money to help to extend/rebuild the maternity hospital in Shyira. Ten years ago, the maternity building was replaced and two midwives trained. The result has been a dramatic reduction in the death rates of both mothers and babies. It's an inspiring story, check out the website, however more needs to be done. Now the maternity hospital is overcrowded as more and more people want to benefit from the expertise and dedication of the staff and the building has to be extended or rebuilt to maintain safe conditions. All the money raised will go to the maternity hospital...

With a certain amount of irony, this year's trip to Shyira has been dubbed 'The Luxury Tour'. Starting in the early hours of Sunday 11th August, the team met up at Amsterdam's Schipol airport, ready for our flight to Kigali. Very much focussed on working in Shyira Maternity Hospital, the team consisted of Jane, a University Head of Midwifery, Chantelle, a Consultant Midwife, Keran, a hospital midwife, Jane, a neo-natal nurse, and Grace, a student midwife. And me. Arriving at Kigali in the evening, we were met by Robinah who had arranged some transport for us, and travelled with us into the city centre. We spent most of Monday with Robinah, changing money in Kigali, visiting the Genocide Museum, and generally acclimatising. We then met up again later for a meal at the Hotel Mille Collines (the hotel in the film 'Hotel Rwanda'). On Tuesday, we were met by Pastor Anthony and Augustin, who transported us to Shyira via Musanze. It was on this journey that ...

Not content with climbing Kilimanjaro in aid of Shyira Trust, now Chantelle Winstanley has taken on another challenge to support Maternal Health in Rwanda. On 4th August, she will be jumping on her trusty two wheels and taking to the streets of London and Surrey for her first road cycling sportif - the London-Surrey 100 - ridden over the course of the Olympic road race. As a novice cyclist, she sees the prospect of this huge event as both exciting and daunting! And if 100 miles of pedal power isn’t exciting enough, the week after the race she’ll be heading out to Rwanda to learn, share and work as a midwife with the people of Shyira. She says "I feel extremely privileged to be visiting the community to see first-hand how this small charity has transformed the lives of the people in this part of Rwanda". Like all visitors travelling to Rwanda on behalf of Shyira Trust, her trip is self-funded on a voluntary basis. Every penny raised by Shyira Trust goes to the intended p...

Jane Morgan from Formby has been awarded an MBE for services to midwifery in the UK, and the provision of maternity services in Shyira, Rwanda. Typically modest, she says “I was overwhelmed to hear that I am being given an MBE because I feel as though I’ve just being doing my job. I’m no good at shouting about my achievements, I don’t really like the attention, but it’s lovely to be recognised for what you do. This is a huge honour - it still hasn’t sunk in yet.” A trustee of the Shyira Trust, a small Formby-based charity, she continues “My life changed when I went to Rwanda in 2001, and I went to visit the maternity hospital in Shyira. I was completely unprepared for what I saw. There were five nurses, only one of whom was trained, and no midwives. There was no running water or electricity and it was filthy. The delivery room had a big hole in the window so everyone congregated outside and looked in during deliveries. And on the ward, mothers who had just given birth were mixed wi...

It's not just me - someone else is Running for Rwanda! James Partridge has kindly volunteered to run the Manchester 10k on May 17th - the same day that I run the Windermere Marathon. We are both running to raise funds for Shyira Trust, in particular raising funds for Midwifery training, the extension to the Maternity Hospital, and other safe motherhood projects. We are committed to raising £10,000 over 4 years to pay for Midwifery training. The Maternity extension will cost over £20,000 - over however long it takes. At the other end of the scale, £15 will pay for a Caesarean section, and £1.50 will pay for a normal delivery. Every penny received by Shyira Trust goes to the projects it was intended for, so please be generous. Even a few pounds can save a life - small change makes a big difference. To support James, in his first ever race, please click here . To support me, celebrating 25 years of running, please click here . Thank you for your support

Sadly, I am unable to take part in this year's Liverpool Half Marathon, which takes place on 29th March - I will be at Manchester airport ! I am not jetting off anywhere exotic, but I am there to pick up Jane who has been in Rwanda to attend Robinah's graduation ceremony. Robinah was the first nurse to benefit from the scholarship set up by Jane 4 years ago, and is now a qualified midwife, and is back in Shyira, working in the maternity hospital. Good luck to Robinah in her new career as a midwife, and good luck to everyone taking part in the Liverpool Half Marathon. Liverpool Half Marathon was going to be my main fund-raising event of Spring, but I guess I'll have to set my sights elsewhere. If you have a suggestion for an alternative event, or if you would like to help to raise funds for the next midwife undergoing training, or if you would just like to find out more, please follow the appropriate link above (e.g. Contact me , Sign up or FAQ's ). Thank you for takin...

As it was, and as it is now - and help sponsor a mid-wife ! http://shyiratrust.org.uk/Documents/MaternityHospital.pdf

The purpose of this blog is to pass on news and views relating to charity work being carried on in Shyira, a small village in North-West Rwanda. More specifically, it is intended to publicise events (usually running) being used to raise funds for Rwanda I will publish anything I feel is relevant, and invite you to link through to the website of a small charity of which I am one of the founder trustees. I will give info on its work, on any new fundraising efforts, and will also give details of any forthcoming events and any achievements by the charity or any of our supporters. Shyira Trust works to relieve poverty, promote health, and advance education in Rwanda, especially in and around Shyira. This blog will report on many events and achievements, primarily, but not exclusively, those related to maternal health, midwifery training and safe motherhood. Thanks - now feel free to see details of the work of the Shyira Trust, especially the work for the Maternity Hospital - http://shyi...