We have all felt the challenges of the past 2 years especially with the pandemic. Across the world millions of people have died, families have lost loved ones and the economic impact is going to take years to recover from.
Then in February 2022 the international community were horrified when they heard that Russia had launched an all out assault against Ukraine. An attack on a peaceful and sovereign nation without just cause.
When the news came in, business owner Robert Haylor of Boost Digital Media Ltd watched as much of the news on the BBC about the ongoing conflict and listened to the reactions from world leaders across the world. Many people took to social media to voice their condemnation of the war and the hashtag #StandwithUkraine was soon trending online.
Places that a lot of us will have never heard of Luhansk, Severodonetsk, Mariupol and so many others became headline news. Countries around the world showed their support for Ukraine, providing the tools needed to defend their sovereignty among all of this were millions of citizens millions forced to leave their homes and head West.
Immediate countries like Poland have taken in large amounts of Ukraine refugees, here in the UK we have also taken in over 95,000 people from Ukraine thanks to the goodwill of the people.
“I’m a dad first and foremost and when I heard of the invasion my first question that came to mind was how would I feel if my son was trapped in the middle of a conflict? I’d do all I could to get him out or to get to him, even if that meant running or crawling the whole way.” said Robert.
“Each year I take part in a physical challenge, my only requirements are that it must challenge my mental and physical health. I didn’t have a charity for this year’s challenge so when I heard the British Red Cross were raising funds I instantly thought that’s the one for me”. Robert continues
Back in 2018 Robert weighed in at over 20 stone and could barely run for a minute. Throughout 2018 he pushed forward with the Couch to 5K app and found physical training began to change both his physical appearance.
With a history of mental health problems including being diagnosed agoraphobic Robert found that through physical training he was able to relive a lot of the trauma he experienced in his childhood and make peace with it changing his mindset and outlook on life.
“Each challenge I do I set an ambitious goal both physically and financially for the charity and this years event is no different. I also have gone big, attempting my very first Ultra marathon across mixed terrain which will see me run 53.8km across Exmoor. “
The Exmoor Trail Challenge takes place on the 30th July 2022 and will see 800 people taking part in the event. Further details about the event can be found on the Trails Co website.
Robert is looking to raise £2,000 for the British Red Cross and you can donate by visiting his JustGiving Page, as mentioned already 100% of all donations will go directly to the charity. .
