Fundraisers defeat the elements to conquer 10km challenge
A group of fundraisers, aged from six to seventy-six-years-old, battled wind, rain and snow last weekend to complete the 10km challenge from Halifax to Bradford.
Raising funds for the Islamic Relief charity, the group gathered in Halifax town centre on Sunday morning before running up the daunting ‘Queensbury Mountain’ and into the neighbouring city.
31-year-old Arfan Mir, who has organised the event for the past two years, said it was a great day, ‘despite the weather’ and was confident of reaching the £5,000 target.
Amongst those who completed the run was Arfan’s grandfather, running for a second time following last year’s event, alongside children still in primary school.
“Sunday was a big success with around 30 people, of all ages, coming down to complete the challenge,” Arfan said.
“The Yorkshire weather may have thrown everything it had at us yet we conquered it and everybody who took part can be proud of themselves.
“We even defeated the ‘Queensbury Mountain’ in wind and rain and made it to Bradford, all for a great cause.”
To make the challenge even more testing, Arfan completed the run this year with an added 30kg weight on his back.
He added: “At times I felt I needed to stop when the straps were digging into my shoulders and the rain was just adding to the weight of the bag on my back.
“The thing that kept me going was knowing that we were raising money for people who really need it and face much more difficult challenges than this on a daily basis.
“I have heard stories of what people come up against in some of the world’s poorest areas so I knew I could complete this run.”
After finishing, every runner was awarded a medal from the charity as they gathered in Centenary Square.
A local cafe owner even opened up his shop to cater for the drenched fundraisers, where cake and hot beverages were served up free of charge.
