Co-founder and CEO of The Lewis Foundation, Lorraine Lewis, is preparing to take on a gruelling 100-mile ultra-marathon as part of the charity’s fundraising efforts to mark ten years of supporting adults diagnosed with cancer.
Lorraine, who founded The Lewis Foundation with her husband Lee in 2016, will take part in the Rat Race Adventure Sports 100-mile series, running from Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland to Edinburgh Castle, on July 4 to 6.
The continuous 100-mile challenge will see Lorraine cover the equivalent of almost four marathons, one after the other, with a 48-hour time limit to complete the route. The terrain will include road, trail, hills and mountainous sections, with runners travelling through the night and having to reach pit stops by set cut-off times to remain in the event.
Lorraine has been training six days a week, totalling around 18 hours, while continuing to lead The Lewis Foundation and juggle day-to-day life.
The challenge forms part of a year of fundraising to celebrate the charity’s tenth anniversary. Since launching, The Lewis Foundation has grown from a personal mission into a charity delivering more than 2,000 free gift packs every month to adults receiving cancer treatment in 17 hospitals across the Midlands and East of England.
Each gift pack contains items such as toiletries, books, blankets, puzzle books, body lotion and other comfort items, designed to bring moments of relief, dignity and joy to people during cancer treatment.
Lorraine has already raised £600 through the ultra-marathon challenge, with every £3.60 raised funding one gift pack for an adult diagnosed with cancer.
Lorraine said: “I’m a mix of excited and scared. One hundred miles is a huge challenge and when someone reminded me it is almost four marathons, one after the other, it really hit home. The route’s continuous, including through the night, and although there are pit stops along the way, I don’t think I’ll sleep. I know that if I stop for too long, I might struggle to get going again.
“This year marks ten years of The Lewis Foundation and I wanted to do something that really reflected the scale of what this charity means to us. We started The Lewis Foundation to bring comfort and joy to adults going through cancer treatment and that remains at the heart of everything we do.”
The Lewis Foundation was created after Lorraine and Lee Lewis experienced first-hand how isolating and difficult hospital treatment could be for adults diagnosed with cancer. The couple began by hand-delivering gifts to patients and have since built a charity that now supports thousands of people every month.
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Find out more about The Lewis Foundation here.
