LauRunning

I spent 2021 doing a monthly running challenge in support of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). I reflect on the fundraiser and the most memorable challenges. 2021 running challenges in pictures. Reaching our £12,700 goal My fundraising buddy Thia set the goal of raising £12,700 for JCWI in 2021. This is what families have to pay for a non-British spouse to go through the UK immigration system, from the first visa application, to British citizenship, with legal fees. It was an intimidating amount of money to fundraise, but that was the point. £12,700 is a grossly inhumane figure to charge families to be able to live in the UK, just because one partner does not have British citizenship. I'm happy to report that after a year of fundraising, Thia and I have reached our goal. At the time of writing, our fundraiser is at £13,762.  We had a bit of help, though. Our £12,700 figure is the combination of money we individually fundraised, and what JCWI fundraised through

While visiting my family in the US, I tried out some new routes and races to make my December running interesting.  Fundraising for JCWI in 2021 This is the 12th recap post of my 2021 monthly running challenges. These challenges are part of my fundraiser for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).  Read my blog post on why I'm doing this fundraiser My previous recaps Donate to my JustGiving page Recapping the horrors of UK immigration each month As part of my fundraising efforts, I am also raising awareness about what's happening in the world of UK immigration each month. I want people to understand just how much awfulness happens in 28 to 31 days. My recaps will be over on my Medium site. How the UK immigration system hurts people: November 2021 Why American running It's not a physical challenge like running every day or running a marathon was. But rather than stick to runs in the US I've done before, I tried to make sure I was running in new and exciti

 I ran a very rainy, muddy, hilly trail 10k at Lewis Morris Park, and it wiped me out. Jumping in my race shirt. Why NJ Winter Trail Series This was the other race I was thinking of doing 2 weeks ago when I did the half marathon at Kittatiny Valley State Park, but I didn't like that the half marathon was 2 loops. It's part of a winter series, so I decided to run the 2nd in the series but only do the 10k. The trails at Lewis Morris Park. A rainy race In a forecast of seemingly endless sunshine, the only day with predicted rain was the day of this race. And rain it did. Luckily, it was only a light rain, but it meant spending most of my pre-start time in my dad's car keeping dry. My dad was the official umbrella holder of this race. The worst race toilets I got an email the day before the race to say there were no porta-potties being brought in for the race. Instead you had to make use of the single porta-potties that are in the various parking lots that are near the course.

I did my first trail half marathon at Kittatinny Valley State Park in New Jersey and walked away with an extra medal for finishing 2nd in my gender and age group. First trail half marathon complete. Why Alexa's Thunder Run The day before the half marathon, I was searching for upcoming races I could do in New Jersey while I'm visiting my family. Most were 5k's, but I found 2 trail half marathons for the next day.  I had never done a trail half marathon before, so this seemed like a good opportunity to try one out. I preferred the course for Alexa's Thunder Run because it went by lots of lakes and the course was 1 loop, while the other was 2. Most importantly, I decided to run a half because I've been stuffing my face with food while in the US, so this race was a chance to offset some of the damage. A very cold morning I talked about in my last race recap how I had a very long wait in the cold. This race, I had a shorter wait, but it was much, much colder. It was belo