Mimi Anderson sets off to run the Freedom Trail in South Africa for Social Change

by Kate McNeil September 19, 2014

Mimi Anderson is our fabulous Ultra-Marathon ambassador. A role model and icon in the running world, Mimi and her friend Samantha Gash, will be running more than 2,000 km along the Freedom Trail in South Africa, on the 24th September.

The run starts outside the City Hall in Pietermaritzburg and goes through some of the most remote but beautiful parts of South Africa finishing in Paarl just outside Cape Town.

Mimi says, "After two years of planning today I leave for South Africa and the start of my biggest and toughest challenge to date.

We will be running for 32 days covering anything from 48km - 95.6km each day over technical terrain with a cumulative ascent of 37,000m and the highest point on the route is 2,700m above sea level and staying with local farmers along the route which really will add to the true feeling of being in South Africa.

Many of you may remember during my John O'Groats to Lands End World Record in 2008 I had a PINK dot that enabled you to follow my progress down the length of the UK, great news the Inkerman Group will be providing the PINK dot once again so you can follow Samantha and myself as we run/stagger/crawl our way across South Africa. http://www.freedomrunners.org/thetracker/

The aim of the run is to raise awareness & £27,500 to enable Save the Children to set up a social enterprise business in the Free State making re-usable sanitary pads. 1 in 3 girls miss out on 4/5 days of school each month due to their periods as they simply are unable to afford to buy sanitary pad - many of the girls eventually drop out of school altogether. By not continuing with their education this then impacts on the rest of their lives, taking away choices they should by rights be able to have.

The project will also help provide education for schoolgirls and women on health and hygiene, as well as life skills training and workshops for parents and students about the importance of attending school. It’s a very simple way of making a massive difference for girls in South Africa.

http://vimeo.com/98837316

Thank you to everyone who has Sponsored Freedom Runners you really are quite marvellous and also to everyone who has donated. Our aim had been to raise half of the target amount for the Charity before we left (£27,500) and the good news is that we have actually gone over the half way point which is all down to you guys. If you would like to make a donation you can do so by going to our Save the Children fund raising page.

A big marvellous thank you for all your amazing, wonderful support it means a lot to me. This is such a huge project and one that is taking me way outside my comfort zone in many ways but I am feeling ready for the challenge and really looking forward to what will be a truely wonderful experience."

To support the charity, follow this link: https://donate.savethechildren.org.au/FreedomRunners

The Nordic Oil team wish Mimi and Samantha the very best of luck.