UPDATE: 22.9.20

I want to say a huge thank you for all the help and support from everyone for donating and cheering me on. The support from ARC has been amazing, I highly recommend fundraising for them!

The New Forest Marathon was tough and oh so hilly! But the event was extremely well organised, all the runners were responsible with social distancing throughout the course, with traffic lights on the start line and a que and overtaking system any Brit would be proud of. I managed to finish in 5hrs 4 minutes, which I am really happy with (my goal time was 5hrs). I'm looking forward to a little rest then I will start looking for my next challenge. 

Thank you again!

Emma

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You can't beat the excitement when you spot a little lizard or snake disappearing into the heather when running or walking in the New Forest! The New Forest is home to many rare and endangered reptiles and amphibians. ARC’s work managing sites, educating the community and ensuring the survival of these amazing and often misunderstood animals also benefits many other species!

My favourite reptile is the slow worm (Anguis fragilis), because it has to be one of the most misunderstood creatures out there, and the scientific name just sounds wonderfully romantic! They aren't slow, they aren't worms, they aren't even snakes but legless lizards, they eat slugs and I think they are utterly beautiful.

In order to try to raise funds and awareness to ensure some of the UKs most exotic creatures will be around for my kids to see I decided to run a marathon.

Running the New Forest Marathon will be a big challenge for me, when I first started training for this the furthest I had run was 10km, I started running a couple of years ago as a way of getting some head space and soon discovered it was the door to so much more.

I chose the New Forest Marathon partly for its location on my doorstep and partly for their environmental and community ethos. Although the marathon is now not quite the way I had planned it, it will be a closed event, with the internet and social media I will be able to keep everyone updated with my progress on the day using live track and posting updates to Facebook on my dedicated page facebook.com/Emmas#runningforreptiles or on instagram (@emma_runningforreptiles) and using the hashtag #RunningforReptiles (Please feel free to send me messages of encouragement and support I may need these on the day!).

The money donated will go directly to ARC, supporting them in their important work ensuring the survival of some of the UKs most endangered species. Things are strange and financially difficult for everyone this year, but many of us have also discovered the importance and diversity of the natural world while everything else has been closed, so please consider giving our reptiles, amphibians and their habitats a helping hand by donating or becoming an ARC Friend. 

Emma Debben