Rachel – Humans of Avon and Somerset
“This challenge benefits the community, the charity, and my personal wellbeing. Those are the reasons I keep going.”
Rachel, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector
When my mum passed away in 2011, my family and I were wonderfully supported by the Frome based charity WHY. They provide counselling and emotional support for patients, families, friends and carers who have been affected by or bereaved by cancer and other life-threatening conditions. Ever since then I have been fundraising for them, which have included some big community events and two world records with my brothers. Five years ago, I attempted the challenge of running a mile every day for a year, encouraging people to run with me and donate what they could. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the WHY charity, and I couldn’t think of a reason not to try this challenge again.
So, it’s a commitment, but advertising this keeps me accountable. I get the opportunity to be inventive and creative through my dedicated running social media accounts, incentivising people to join me. I use these accounts to post my running locations and updates on the amount of money raised. It takes longer to do the social media than to run the mile each day! Runs are planned day by day, because scheduling them far in advance doesn’t suit the unpredictability of my job, or life in general. After doing a few test runs at the end of last year, I laced up my trainers on January 1 2024 to begin the challenge anew.
It’s luck of the draw in terms of how many people will show up – sometimes it’s only one, sometimes a dozen, but that’s the beauty of it for me. I have regulars who join which is always comforting – one guy has run over 60 miles with me and given me a pound every time. It all adds up, no matter how small you think a donation is. I carry around t-shirts and vests for people to wear when they turn up, and in turn they can donate what they can afford. We then get to run together for 10 minutes or so, talk about our day, and then go our separate ways.
Being only a mile a day, it’s an inclusive distance, so you don’t have to be an experienced runner to come along. I’ve been joined by such a variety of individuals and groups, including local hockey, rugby and football clubs. I ran a mile at Glastonbury Festival this past summer, as I had a Sunday ticket and couldn’t miss the opportunity to run through such an iconic local site. I’ve taken the challenge abroad and made sure to run while on holiday – I ensure you no day has been missed. It will all culminate in a big, final, run on New Year’s Eve at the local rugby club. We’re arranging for the town band to come and play, to make it a really fun family affair.
Some days the challenge feels tougher than others, and I’ve had both work and personal commitments come up that threaten my availability. I dealt with illness over the summer but still managed to go to work and run my mile every day. I only had one minor injury at the start of the year to my knee, so I’m thankful that the short distance was forgiving during my recovery. I’m lucky to have the support of my local community, and many of them know me because of my role as a Neighbourhood Inspector. In fact, my Chief Inspector said I have neighbourhood policing in my blood! Of course, because I am publicising my routes, I do always have my personal safety in mind when it comes to choosing running locations.
Runs can also be challenging for other reasons. There have been different occasions this year where people have passed away in the local community, and families have asked me to dedicate a mile in their name. I’ve done four runs this year in memory of those people, and although they’re tough to do, they help me not to underestimate the impact this simple activity can have on people. I recently ran with a woman whose husband had just started chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, and just coming out for ten minutes gave her a safe space to talk about it. I’ve had people say that I’m inspiring for doing this, but I’m really inspired by the people that join me and some of the challenges they’ve faced.
It’s a different ball game completing this challenge as an Inspector, compared to when I was a sergeant and didn’t have such a big area to cover during my day job. I’m not far off hitting £8,000, which I am grateful for as I know the past year has been tough for a lot of people as we still battle with the cost-of-living crisis. My target is £10,000 and I’m determined to achieve that. Despite how conscious people still are, I always find I get a surge of donations at this time of year. Festive spirit, or disbelief I’m still going, I’m not sure!
On my rest days I donate my time to go into local schools, talking in assemblies about my journey and motivation, and running with the children and staff. Over a thousand pupils have run a mile with me this year which is incredible. It helps them to value their community, understand the charity, and to see me as a human and not just a police officer. I’ve had donations from pocket money, and I’ve been able to inspire another generation to fundraise. This engagement and the connections formed during the miles have been so valuable to me throughout the year, and on some occasions, I’ve been brought to tears. I will certainly miss the energy at the schools!
I’m very grateful that presently, I have good health, and I have the capability to do this challenge alongside a physically demanding job. I feel that fundraising should be a bit of a challenge, and as we’re entering the end of the year the difficulties increase. I get home after a day of work, it’s drizzly and cold, and running is the last thing I want to do. However, as I learned the first time I did this, it benefits the community, the charity, and my personal wellbeing. Those are the reasons I keep going.
