Fundraising challenge to help vulnerable children

The DARED Challenge – Do a Run Every Day will take place in June in support of Edinburgh-based charity Circle.

The idea is to encourage everyone taking part to do either a 1 mile or 5km run every day of the month.

Broughton High maths teacher and runner Mark Fletcher came up with the idea and last year 150 Edinburgh school staff raised more than £14,000 for the charity.

Now the idea is being thrown open to the wider public. Circles’s patrons David Tennant and Arabella Weir will be joining the campaign in the coming months.

As well as fundraising the idea is to get you off your couch enjoying the benefits of daily exercise.

Although the premise of the event was built on getting school staff and teachers exercising regularly, organiser Mark hopes that the health benefits that arise as a result of this type of challenge will inspire anyone – not just teachers – to get involved.  

He said: “Incorporating exercise into our daily lives has countless benefits to our physical and mental health. If we can do this while raising money for an extremely deserving cause, everyone’s a winner.”

Social inequality and poverty lead to some of the many reasons that a family may need the support of Circle including alcohol and substance misuse, imprisonment and young or lone parenting.

Many of the pupils in participating schools from previous DARED Challenges are supported by Circle.

Mark Kennedy, Chief Executive of Circle, said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who is taking part in The DARED Challenge as their dedication, passion and enthusiasm will directly enable Circle to continue our vital work supporting vulnerable children and families in Edinburgh and beyond.”

Early bird entry for the DARED Challenge is now open with participants able to choose to run one mile or 5km a day in June. Participation costs £10 per person. Participants are asked to fundraise a minimum of £50. Participants who do not wish to fundraise can pay an additional £20 to secure their position on the challenge.

Full details can be found here.