Norn Iron 100 Miles Ultra Marathon

Hi

My name is Matt Hardy and I am raising money in support of the Jigsaw Project by running the Norn Iron 100 Mile Ultra Marathon challenge on June 3rd 2023.

The Jigsaw Project is a small independent charity based in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. They provide support to young people and their families affected by Autism by organising a series of youth programmes and events in the local area. The idea is to create a safe welcoming environment where the children can have fun whilst helping them gather life skills along the way.

My son Cillian was diagnosed with Autism and has had challenges accessing more mainstream youth clubs and events due to communication issues. He loves attending the events that the Jigsaw Project organise and it has made such a difference to our family.

I started running during lockdown in early 2020 as a way to get fit after a few too many years of overindulgence! I went from struggling to do a few kilometers to gradually running a bit further and a bit further and then I just kept going. Friends and family have started calling me Forest Gump! To date, I have managed to do a couple of marathons and a couple of ultra-marathons up to 75km.

Signing up for the Norn Iron is a massive step up again and involves running over 100 miles (160km) in one go! I have a maximum time to finish of 34 hours... You can read more about the event here .

With this being such a huge and unusual challenge a few people have suggested that they would like to sponsor me to show support. I can't think of anyone who deserves some help more than Sonya and the Jigsaw Project and it feels like a nice way to say thanks for the support they have shown to my family since our arrival in Ireland late last year.

I know things are tough financially for lots of people so please don't feel obliged to contribute if you can't afford it. If you can spare a few pounds it would be massively appreciated.

Cheers

Matt