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A local Reverend has teamed up with a graffiti artist for a challenge that will see him run 100km in five days and 100 tags sprayed to raise £5,000 to make his church warmer, brighter and more disability friendly.
Reverend Mark Barrett and Stephen Lamb are working together on the combined fundraiser for St. Andrew’s Church, and they're now on the hunt for islanders to join them.
Video: The route the running Reverend will be taking.
“We’ve been talking for a long time about the need for upgrading the inside of our Church - not just aesthetically, but actually to be more welcoming of people of all abilities, and it’s been on our hearts for ages,” the running Reverend explained.
“It’s very hard to get wheelchairs in, and it’s very dark inside our Church.”
On putting together a plan to fundraise for the upgrade, Mark said the church wanted to do something different.
“Coming out of covid, a few of us sat down and thought how can we do something really creative that actually pulls people in from the community – and we all have fun, as opposed to just asking people for money or applying for a grant.”
This led to a brainstorming session between him and St. Andrew's Centre Manager – experienced graffiti artist Stephen Lamb - who suggested a spray painting challenge.
Pictured: An example of one of Stephen's creations.
The Reverend also wanted to do a challenge, having done running fundraisers for charity in the past.
“I’ve always wanted to do 100k run, like an ultra-run, but I thought I definitely though I’m not fit enough for that,” he laughed.
Following this, the pair decided to combine their two ideas together, which has led to their current marathon mission.
Starting on Monday 31 May and finishing on the Friday, Mark will be running 20km each day of the week – equivalent to 5 half marathons, starting from the park, going to the Radisson by the quay, and running back in a series of laps.
While this is going on, Stephen will be aiming to artistically spray paint 100 names onto the Church’s graffiti wall in the car park, to match Mark’s 100km.
He'll be aiming to complete 20 per night, in return for a donation, which he will then photograph and uploaded to the internet for people to keep – “a one-off original piece of artwork,” as Mark puts it.
Pictured: How much has been raised so far.
The following night, this will be removed, and the next 20 names will be put up and photographed the following night, until the 100 have all had their place on the wall.
So far, 14 people have agreed to run alongside Mark, and the crowdfunder now stands at over £700 of the £5,000 target.
In addition, congregation members have come forward with offers of BBQs and food for the nights as the events go on, as well as a bit of music, meaning it will be something where “people can make an evening of it”, bring a drink and enjoy cheering on the running and painting.
If people want to join Mark on his run, he will be starting at 18:30 in St Andrew’s Car Park for a team talk, before starting to run the laps at 19:00.
He added that people should feel free to come along for the later laps too or just do a few rather than the whole 100k too, adding he’ll “probably need moral support!”
While the event will be a fun challenge for both Mark and Stephen, the Reverend emphasised that their focus is to give back to the community.
“...We’re doing it for our church and our church tagline is 'God’s heart for the community'… This is a way to bless people in our community and really welcome people of all abilities into our centre and our church.”
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