{"id":6780,"date":"2021-10-08T17:49:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T17:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/?p=6780"},"modified":"2021-10-08T17:49:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T17:49:44","slug":"runner-feature-helen-croft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/runner-feature-helen-croft\/","title":{"rendered":"Runner Feature – Helen Croft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Runner

Helen Croft – Oulton Park<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A couple weeks ago I ran 7 laps (20miles) around Oulton Park Race Track. Many of my
\nrunning buddies thought I was nuts for running this race but it was all part of my marathon
\ntraining for London Virtual Marathon taking place on 4 th October for a wonderful local
\ncharity.<\/p>\n

Friends for Leisure https:\/\/www.friendsforleisure.org.uk\/ is a small registered Charity who
\nhave a big vision of a society where all children and young people have the same
\nopportunities, with the support they need to make friends and enjoy their leisure time.<\/p>\n

Pre-covid they provided term time group activities, one to one friendships and an
\noutstanding youth volunteer program of recruitment, training and support.<\/p>\n

Like many charities the global pandemic has had a huge impact on charities in terms of the
\nservices they have been able to offer, how to offer these services in a covid secure way and
\nalso fundraising.<\/p>\n

Throughout the pandemic they have provided zoom sessions with an array
\nof activities including: Discos, Magic Shows, Animal zoo show, Keep fit, Yoga, Youth club
\nsessions, Art classes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Runner<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a parent of a child with Special Needs who regularly attends Friends for Leisure activities
\nand an active runner, I was honoured to be asked to run London Virtual Marathon to help
\nraise funds for them.<\/p>\n

I started running 5 years ago and have completed 5 marathons to
\ndate. It’s my escape, time for me away from my caring role. I find it’s a good way to unwind
\nand focus on my own wellbeing, which as a carer is something we all find hard to take time
\nout of our role and feel guilty for looking after ourselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, we need to take care of ourselves in order to look after others. My son is keen to get back to the Saturday bowling sessions and has enjoyed joining in the Zoom sessions over lockdown, none of which would have been possible if it wasn’t for the wonderful and hardworking staff. Here are some quotes from other parents who value the great support FFL offer their young child\/young adult:<\/p>\n

“As a family we can feel quite isolated and disconnected from others due to little
\nunderstanding around Ruby’s needs but FFL have always made us feel welcome. I honestly
\ncan’t put into words how amazing FFL is and how much it’s needed for our children and the
\ncommunity”<\/p>\n

“The input from FFL has been invaluable in helping my son through this recent and ongoing
\ndifficult times of Covid-19. I very much commend the commitment to good quality,
\nequitable and accessible zoom activities produced by FFL since March 2020”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

I am proud to help such a wonderful charity through my running.<\/p>\n

If you’d like to read more please check out my fundraising page HERE!<\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A couple weeks ago I ran 7 laps (20miles) around Oulton Park Race Track. Many of my running buddies thought I was nuts for running this race but it was all part of my marathon training for London Virtual Marathon taking place on 4 th October for a wonderful local charity. Friends for Leisure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2955,"featured_media":6784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6780"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2955"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6780"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6792,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6780\/revisions\/6792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}