While most people are sound asleep in bed on Sunday morning, I will be rudely awakened by my alarm clock at 4 am, before heading out into the darkness and steeling myself to run round the urban croft that I created almost ten years ago on a neglected patch of land in Leith.
This charity has its roots in my personal attempts to keep my own children and others amused, while living in a flat in Leith. It began as Crops in Pots and has grown into an environmental, community and educational NGO with links even to Malawi in Africa.
We are currently building a new £1 million centre at the croft on Leith Links. But the building work has resulted in temporary closure of the café, farmers market and other initiatives that we relied on for day-to-day costs and has left it with financial challenges.
Covid and Brexit have also seen many 3rd sector organisations such as ours struggle to secure grants with many funders closing their doors due to high demand. Paradoxically there is a real and growing need for more funding to reduce the impact these issues are having on communities.
That is why I’m challenging people to sponsor me £1 for every lap of the croft they think I can complete in an attempt to save jobs and continue the work we do which keeps hundreds of local people literally grounded, growing flowers and vegetables for themselves and the community.
I’m a novice runner having never felt the need to exercise excessively due to always being rather active but having got slightly older feel more sluggish than my previous youthful self so have been’ in training’ for my May Day run. Starting out only a month or two ago with circuits of the Links and have taken part in 5k Parkrun events. But some kind person has anonymously donated £100 already. And with one lap of the perimeter paths measuring 400 metres, 100 laps would need a marathon effort.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as the day approaches I am getting more and more daunted by the challenge. Often preferring a pub quiz in an evening rather than my training but will do my best.
The Run May Day sponsored run is part of a weekend of activities on the croft, including a ceilidh on Saturday afternoon.
See Spring for the Croft for background info
See my own page for more info on the running challenge