Vicky's 496km running challenge

Vicky works for Nationwide, our corporate partner and headline partner of our Secret Santa campaign. Vicky saw the Sean Conway’s 496km running challenge as the ideal opportunity to help give back to vulnerable children and families.

Running for charity is a powerful way to combine personal growth with making a meaningful impact. This is Vicky's story of how she got inspired to take on the challenge, and her advice for anyone looking to follow in her footsteps.

Vicky told us: “I heard of Sean Conway’s 496 challenge a year or so ago – he’s an ‘adventurer’ known for his epic endurance challenges – and I’ve often thought about the challenge in a ‘I wonder if that’s possible?' kind of way!”

“I love pushing my limits to see what I’m capable of. The thought of doing it in the middle of winter while also juggling the hectic Christmas period seemed to up the ante of the challenge." Vicky said she had two goals:

• "To raise money for Action for Children and drive awareness of the fantastic work done by the charity."
• "To inspire people to get moving and take on a physical challenge that stretches them."

“For anyone taking on a sporting challenge, my advice would be to involve other people; it may be your challenge but you don’t have to do it alone!"

"My family, friends and work colleagues provided enormous motivation and support by joining me on runs, helping plan routes, having hot drinks and cake ready for me at the end of runs and sending me motivational messages.”

“Not only did that help me hugely but it made them feel part of it too. There were lots of times when I was running in the dark, the cold and the fog with tired legs and knowing I had lots of people out there willing me on made such a difference.”

"I made sure I kept everyone updated on how it was going so they were with me on the journey. I also found another ‘496er’... someone who was doing the same challenge who understood how it felt."

You can join team Action for Children today to help us support vulnerable children, young people, and families across the UK. We have places in some of the UK's best races.