{"id":328,"date":"2020-11-17T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T16:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/?p=328"},"modified":"2022-01-03T17:51:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T17:51:04","slug":"finish-line-in-sight-for-mum-running-12-half-marathons-to-fight-poverty-with-tearfund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/2020\/11\/finish-line-in-sight-for-mum-running-12-half-marathons-to-fight-poverty-with-tearfund\/","title":{"rendered":"Finish Line in Sight for Mum Running 12 Half-Marathons To Fight Poverty with Tearfund"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This press release was originally written for Tearfund and published on their website<\/a>. Contact details may have changed since its publication.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny Pullen, 39, of Haywards Heath, at the start of 2020 took on the challenge of running 12 half-marathons across the UK in as many months to mark a milestone birthday and raise funds for international development charity Tearfund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I\u2019m turning 40 in December, and this challenge has been a great way for me to celebrate that milestone whilst raising money for a charity I believe in,\u2019 shares the part-time physiotherapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny is a seasoned runner but this year has been her biggest challenge yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I\u2019ve done marathons and half-marathons before, but nothing quite like this. The logistics of organising my runs was a lot harder than I expected, and that was before coronavirus changed my plans. It\u2019s been tough to ensure I\u2019ve trained enough for each half-marathon. My husband and children have been fantastic in helping me manage my family and work life alongside the runs.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny initially started the runs on her own, which was tough, but her friend Claire Reyner, who also turned 40 this year, joined the challenge after May which changed the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Having Claire by my side meant we could focus on encouraging each other and pushing ourselves further than we ever thought possible. We\u2019re even celebrating our 40th birthdays by running the halves together; we ran on Claire\u2019s birthday back in October and we\u2019ll be celebrating mine in December during our final half. Every single run has felt like an adventure, and I\u2019ve experienced an excitement of doing them with a friend whilst raising money for Tearfund.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mother of two was inspired to raise money for Tearfund when she heard about children dying from malnutrition in Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yemen is currently the world\u2019s biggest humanitarian crisis, with over 24.1 million people urgently needing aid. One of the poorest countries in the Middle East, Yemen\u2019s civil war has crippled the country\u2019s water, sanitation and health infrastructures. Over 85,000 children have died from hunger or disease since 2015. Furthermore coronavirus is spreading undetected with Yemen now facing dangerous pandemic outcomes and an estimated 80,000 deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through its partners, Tearfund is providing conflict-affected families with food baskets and hygiene materials to help reduce the risk of illness and disease. Seeds and tools have also been distributed to help people plant vegetable gardens, and community welfare groups are being established for vulnerable people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tearfund supports mothers like Farah who was forced to flee her home with her young children when fighting erupted in their village in south west Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018It was the worst day in my life when I left my house,\u2019 recounts Farah. \u2018I have not seen anything good since that ominous night. I hope to return to my house as soon as possible.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farah wasn\u2019t able to take any of her things with her; she just hoped to find somewhere safe. They found themselves in one of the few places where no one stopped them from setting up shelter \u2013 a graveyard. But with no possessions or materials to build even a make-shift home, it was a challenge to start again in the bleak outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since hearing Farah\u2019s story, it has weighed heavy on Jenny\u2019s heart as she continued her challenge. \u2018My children are a similar age as Farah\u2019s and I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about what I would do if it were my family in that situation, especially during a global pandemic. There are several occasions during runs where I\u2019ve had to remind myself that I\u2019m doing this so Tearfund can help those who have so little.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a346 could provide a family like Farah\u2019s with a food basket, containing essential food and cooking items. \u00a370 could provide two families with vital hygiene kits, including soap, toothpaste, sanitary products and nappies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny\u2019s desire is that others will follow her lead and be inspired to set their own challenges to make a difference. \u2018This year has reminded me that life can change without any warning. Doing these runs has been so rewarding and no matter how far you run, together we can all get involved and run to beat poverty.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Jenny is an inspiration and shows how dedicated our fundraisers are as they help transform the lives of people living in extreme poverty,\u2019 says Jo Mummery, Head of Tearfund\u2019s Community Fundraising. \u2018Her determination to continue to partner with Tearfund throughout an international pandemic will bring hope and make a difference to people like Farah who are facing the effects of poverty and coronavirus.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see Jenny’s progress, to donate or set your own challenge, visit www.justgiving.com\/team\/1212hmteam<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more details about fundraising for Tearfund, visit . Details of Tearfund\u2019s work in the Middle East and how you can support it, can be found at www.tearfund.org\/homeis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For further information or interview requests with Jenny Pullen, contact the Tearfund Media Team on 07929 339813.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo<\/strong>s
\u2018Jenny Pullen (R) and Claire Reyner (L) at Ditchling Beacon in the South Downs, September 2020.\u2019
Credit: Jenny Pullen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Tearfund<\/strong>
Tearfund is a Christian relief and development agency and a member of the Disasters\u2019 Emergency Committee. Tearfund has been working around the world for more than 50 years responding to disasters and helping lift communities out of poverty.  For more information about the work of Tearfund, please visit .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This press release was originally written for Tearfund and published on their website. Contact details may have changed since its publication. Jenny Pullen, 39, of Haywards Heath, at the start of 2020 took on the challenge of running 12 half-marathons across the UK in as many months to mark a milestone birthday and raise funds… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,42],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","category-work","tag-tearfund"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/JennyPullen-200922-withClaire.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328\/revisions\/383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oliverneedham.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}