HEAVILY involved in the world of charities and fundraising, a woman is tackling a 26 marathon challenge in aid of domestic abuse victims.
Tracey Hedgecox hopes that by cycling the marathons at home, she can raise £2,000 for Berkshire Women’s Aid.
Ms Hedgecox started her challenge on April, 26 and plans to finish her final ride before the end of May on her static bike at home.
So far, she has already raised more than £800 for the charity.
Ms Hedgecox is the manager of Wokingham United Charities, a grant giving organisation that supports other local charities.
“A lot of charities are on my radar and for me, domestic abuse is one of the things that doesn’t get spoken about and people pretend that it’s not happening,” she explained. “Some people probably think that it doesn’t happen in Wokingham.
“There’s no opportunity for people to escape during lockdown.
“They are trapped. The only thing they’ve got is Boots the Chemists, who have set up support consultations for people.
“It is going on and there isn’t enough support out there.
“Our local refuge can only support about a third of people that get referred to them.
“They have a building which isn’t available because of a lack of funding,” she added.
“My contribution won’t make too much of a difference but if everyone did something, it would.”
Ms Hedgecox has been keeping her cycles varied by wearing a variety of costumes, and has even changed location by moving her static bike into the garden.
“Cycling is easier than running in my book, but it can be incredibly boring when there is no view to look at,” she said.
“I’ve tried doing it in the back garden, but there still isn’t much to look at so it is powered by music. The more the beat in the music, the faster I pedal.
“I’m struggling to get up the stairs of an evening. It’s harder than most people realise.“I’m in a static position on the bike and there are different levels of resistance, I have it on level five.
“I’m aiming to complete the challenge by the end of May which allows me to have one day off a week.
“I’ve tried doing it while I’m working at the same time, but that ended with me twisted at a difficult angle so I’ve decided to do it after work.
“Each cycle varies. If I try and do it while I’m working it is incredibly slow, it can take about three hours.
“If I get on with it, I can do it in around an hour and 10 minutes. The last mile is always a killer. I start to think ‘I can’t do this’, and I sit there staring at the dial waiting for it to tick over.”
Her donation page is less than halfway to the target, but Ms Hedgecox has urged for people to raise awareness if they are unable to donate.
“I’m amazed at some of the donations,” she said. “Especially from some people that I didn’t expect to, who I haven’t even asked and have just done it.
“I have friends of mine who are sharing my posts on social media, not just for sponsorship but also to raise awareness which is so important.”
To find out more or donate, visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TraceyHedgecox2
