A woman from Colwick is gearing up to take on 12 half marathons in 12 months to raise vital funds for her local school.
Gemma Bardwell has set herself the challenge of completing the 12 events during 2018 in a bid to raise over £10,000 for St John the Baptist school in the village.
She will kick-start her series of events with a half-marathon in Whitby on New Year’s Day.
The Colwick mum then plans to end the year in style with her 12th marathon taking her on a route around Las Vegas. The runner will be funding the trips herself to allow all the money raise to go to her chosen cause.
The money raised during the year-long challenge will go towards funding the transformation of one of the buildings at the popular primary school.
They want to turn the 1970s library building into a vibrant learning space for pupils to enjoy and study in.
Gemma only started running a year ago, but said it was with the women in her running group that gave her the belief that she could complete the challenge she has now set herself.
She said: “I started running with Notts Women’s Runners one year ago. At that time I couldn’t run for 15 seconds without feeling like I needed immediate medical assistance. Now I can run 5k in around 29 minutes, 10k in just over an hour and 10 miles in around 1 hour 50 minutes.
“I owe this change to an amazing group of women within in my running group who have encouraged me, increased my confidence and made me feel like I can achieve anything. They made me believe that I can make this challenge happen.
“2018 is going to be a huge push for me. The idea of 12 half marathons over 12 months absolutely petrifies me but the idea of helping the school is urging me to make this happen. I want to give every child, including my own, the best opportunities available during their time at St John’s.
Gemma added: “Colwick is an amazing community and I have no doubt it will support me in making this happen. I have only been living here since 2014 but I am proud to be part of it and want to do as much as I can whilst I am here.”
You can back Gemma’s chosen cause by visiting her JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gemma-bardwell
She will also be updating people on her progress over the course of the year on Twitter. You can follow her @Gemmas12in12