Run ‘FOREST’ Run!
Donation protected
First of all HELLO
Thank you for taking the time to visit my GoFundMe page!
I hope when reading through what I'm trying to do here you will be as excited and motivated as I am.
In a nutshell.
As the rather punny title hints towards I am running everyday for a year to help raise money for a fantastic charity Called The LEAF
They are doing incredible things to help replenish the native tree populations in the East African coastal forests.
Hence the title: RUN ‘FOREST’ RUN! (Literally running for the Forest)
If a forrest could run I'm pretty sure they would! But they are more than safe in the capable hands of the guys @ The Little Environmental Action Fund! (The LEAF)
What am I doing?
Some of you who are closest to me may already know that I have taken on the challenge of running everyday for a WHOLE YEAR!
Snow, rain or shine, injury or not, wether I feel like it or not and most recently whether I’m feeling ill or not.
I have already been running everyday since February 1st and if you follow me on Strava you will know that already there has been numerous obstacles to overcome, both mentally, physically and emotionally!
so it not all petticoats and piña coladas!
My aim is to run at least a total of 2,313 kilometres this year.
This distance represents the amount of primary forest cut down in Kenya annually and this is indicative of the state of the planet!
I run at least 5km everyday and have been chucking in a few half marathons along the way!
On average I will have to run at least 6.3 kilometres per day!
I hope to throw in some targets along the way for example Races, running clubs, personal best, my first marathon, runs in different country’s etc. SO WATCH THIS SPACE!!!
Why the heck would you do that?
A perfectly reasonable question to ask... I must say I also still occasionally ask myself this question!
From what started out as a personal challenge, I knew that the benefits of being outside in nature everyday improved my mental health profoundly and once that Idea was established I realised it was time to give something back to the world and help protect and nurture this incredible bubble of Biodiversity!
I wanted to work intimately with a Charity established by bright young conservation thirsty minds so that myself and you guys can really see what an incredible different we can make together.
I found that with the guys at the LEAF - Please check out there website to see for yourself @ https://www.theleafcharity.com/
My story. (Yes I talk a lot.. feel free to skip to the Charity stuff and why I need your help)
After arriving back home from a few years of traveling and just as things started to return back to normal. (What is normal again?..)
A dreaded pandemic engulfed our everyday lives and our futures were changed for the foreseeable.
Although it felt like the world as we knew it was descending into chaos and we found ourselves waiting for the inevitable appearance of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
I however found an opportunity to catch up for lost time, being at home everyday with your family may seem like a nightmare to many but we had an absolute blast!
We found consolation in each other, had craft days, cooked line-caught mackerel on the fire, foraged for mussels and seaweed and most importantly we spent quality time together!
In my eyes the tribe was back together and no mater what happened in the world we would be able to overcome it not problem at all!
what I’m saying is I realised that what was important in my life was my family, friends, health and the beautifully unique environments this planet created and allowed us to call home.
I realised more than ever during lockdown that my happiness and mental state was vastly improved when I spent more time outside in Mother Nature. (Especially when your limited to 1hr per day)
I began to nurture the idea of taking on a personal challenge and that it would make sense to raise as much awareness and funds along the way with the idea that I could do my bit to preserve and protect the Environment.
After a season working on a lobster fishing boat and with the second lockdown and Brexit fast approaching I decided it was time to leave the UK and try and start a fresh in Germany. (whilst it was safe and legal to do so.)
Whilst spending Christmas at my girlfriends parents in the South-central German countryside, I was compelled in such a beautiful area to start running again after months of not really doing anything!
instantly my mood was lifted and I was reunited with a long lost love of mine! My dear friend Running! ❤️
I got it into my head that I could run everyday for a year and that could be my challenge!
This idea didn’t leave my brain and I became quite obsessed with the idea and the challenges it may bring.
If I’m honest with you, I was terrified of the idea and I couldn’t stop convincing myself that I wouldn’t be capable of doing such a thing.(The reason I didn’t start until the 1st of February.)
But here I am today, still unsure, taking every new day as it comes and just putting one foot in front of the other!
The LEAF
Planting 100% native tree species that are threatened by extinction the guys at The LEAF are restoring some of the most threatened ecosystems around the world!
This approach supports tree diversity, the return of native fauna and the long-term sequestration of carbon.
There research programmes help improve restoration efforts, maximising the ecosystem services derived from there projects in turn benefiting local people.
One of there current incredible projects is about to set the record for the most biodiverse native tree planting in East African History which your Donations will be going straight towards!
“The LEAF Charity works with local communities around the world to protect habitats and promote reforestation.
With expertise in botany, zoology, marine biology, finance, conservation and sustainability we use our diverse knowledge to make changes to this planet for the good.” - Taken from there website.
I will be posting regular updates on here and I’m the process of creating a Facebook and Instagram page for the Challenge!
Feel fee to follow any of the links below! If you want to track my runs and make sure I’m sticking to it then please follow my Strava account in the links below! ;)
If you managed to read till here your an absolute saint or just rather bored!
I am forever great full for your time and I hope that together we can make a difference!
Much love!
❤️ Ben lucas ❤️
All the links you need to know!
The LEAF website -
https://www.theleafcharity.com/
The LEAF Insta -
https://instagram.com/wearetheleaf?igshid=7vv4dmp7f2a0
The LEAF Twitter -
https://twitter.com/wearetheleaf
The LEAF Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/wearetheleaf/
My Strava -
https://www.strava.com/dashboard#_=_
Thank you for taking the time to visit my GoFundMe page!
I hope when reading through what I'm trying to do here you will be as excited and motivated as I am.
In a nutshell.
As the rather punny title hints towards I am running everyday for a year to help raise money for a fantastic charity Called The LEAF
They are doing incredible things to help replenish the native tree populations in the East African coastal forests.
Hence the title: RUN ‘FOREST’ RUN! (Literally running for the Forest)
If a forrest could run I'm pretty sure they would! But they are more than safe in the capable hands of the guys @ The Little Environmental Action Fund! (The LEAF)
What am I doing?
Some of you who are closest to me may already know that I have taken on the challenge of running everyday for a WHOLE YEAR!
Snow, rain or shine, injury or not, wether I feel like it or not and most recently whether I’m feeling ill or not.
I have already been running everyday since February 1st and if you follow me on Strava you will know that already there has been numerous obstacles to overcome, both mentally, physically and emotionally!
so it not all petticoats and piña coladas!
My aim is to run at least a total of 2,313 kilometres this year.
This distance represents the amount of primary forest cut down in Kenya annually and this is indicative of the state of the planet!
I run at least 5km everyday and have been chucking in a few half marathons along the way!
On average I will have to run at least 6.3 kilometres per day!
I hope to throw in some targets along the way for example Races, running clubs, personal best, my first marathon, runs in different country’s etc. SO WATCH THIS SPACE!!!
Why the heck would you do that?
A perfectly reasonable question to ask... I must say I also still occasionally ask myself this question!
From what started out as a personal challenge, I knew that the benefits of being outside in nature everyday improved my mental health profoundly and once that Idea was established I realised it was time to give something back to the world and help protect and nurture this incredible bubble of Biodiversity!
I wanted to work intimately with a Charity established by bright young conservation thirsty minds so that myself and you guys can really see what an incredible different we can make together.
I found that with the guys at the LEAF - Please check out there website to see for yourself @ https://www.theleafcharity.com/
My story. (Yes I talk a lot.. feel free to skip to the Charity stuff and why I need your help)
After arriving back home from a few years of traveling and just as things started to return back to normal. (What is normal again?..)
A dreaded pandemic engulfed our everyday lives and our futures were changed for the foreseeable.
Although it felt like the world as we knew it was descending into chaos and we found ourselves waiting for the inevitable appearance of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
I however found an opportunity to catch up for lost time, being at home everyday with your family may seem like a nightmare to many but we had an absolute blast!
We found consolation in each other, had craft days, cooked line-caught mackerel on the fire, foraged for mussels and seaweed and most importantly we spent quality time together!
In my eyes the tribe was back together and no mater what happened in the world we would be able to overcome it not problem at all!
what I’m saying is I realised that what was important in my life was my family, friends, health and the beautifully unique environments this planet created and allowed us to call home.
I realised more than ever during lockdown that my happiness and mental state was vastly improved when I spent more time outside in Mother Nature. (Especially when your limited to 1hr per day)
I began to nurture the idea of taking on a personal challenge and that it would make sense to raise as much awareness and funds along the way with the idea that I could do my bit to preserve and protect the Environment.
After a season working on a lobster fishing boat and with the second lockdown and Brexit fast approaching I decided it was time to leave the UK and try and start a fresh in Germany. (whilst it was safe and legal to do so.)
Whilst spending Christmas at my girlfriends parents in the South-central German countryside, I was compelled in such a beautiful area to start running again after months of not really doing anything!
instantly my mood was lifted and I was reunited with a long lost love of mine! My dear friend Running! ❤️
I got it into my head that I could run everyday for a year and that could be my challenge!
This idea didn’t leave my brain and I became quite obsessed with the idea and the challenges it may bring.
If I’m honest with you, I was terrified of the idea and I couldn’t stop convincing myself that I wouldn’t be capable of doing such a thing.(The reason I didn’t start until the 1st of February.)
But here I am today, still unsure, taking every new day as it comes and just putting one foot in front of the other!
The LEAF
Planting 100% native tree species that are threatened by extinction the guys at The LEAF are restoring some of the most threatened ecosystems around the world!
This approach supports tree diversity, the return of native fauna and the long-term sequestration of carbon.
There research programmes help improve restoration efforts, maximising the ecosystem services derived from there projects in turn benefiting local people.
One of there current incredible projects is about to set the record for the most biodiverse native tree planting in East African History which your Donations will be going straight towards!
“The LEAF Charity works with local communities around the world to protect habitats and promote reforestation.
With expertise in botany, zoology, marine biology, finance, conservation and sustainability we use our diverse knowledge to make changes to this planet for the good.” - Taken from there website.
I will be posting regular updates on here and I’m the process of creating a Facebook and Instagram page for the Challenge!
Feel fee to follow any of the links below! If you want to track my runs and make sure I’m sticking to it then please follow my Strava account in the links below! ;)
If you managed to read till here your an absolute saint or just rather bored!
I am forever great full for your time and I hope that together we can make a difference!
Much love!
❤️ Ben lucas ❤️
All the links you need to know!
The LEAF website -
https://www.theleafcharity.com/
The LEAF Insta -
https://instagram.com/wearetheleaf?igshid=7vv4dmp7f2a0
The LEAF Twitter -
https://twitter.com/wearetheleaf
The LEAF Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/wearetheleaf/
My Strava -
https://www.strava.com/dashboard#_=_
Organizer
Ben Lucas
Organizer
Berlin