Press Release
Exeter MD to undertake Great Wall of China Marathon to raise money for marine conservation projects in Devon and Cornwall
After months of gruelling preparation, King Recruit’s Managing Director Helen Plumridge and her husband Nathan Plumridge (Owner of Energy Hair, Darts Farm) will be undertaking the huge challenge that is the Great Wall of China Marathon on 19 May. They will be raising money for the Marine Conservation Society.
The Great Wall of China Marathon, first held in 1999, is run along mountainous sections of the wall in Miyun County and Jinshanling, 125 km northeast of Beijing, and now attracts more than 2500 participants from all over the world. It is the only marathon that can be seen from space and is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s toughest marathons. When you look at some of the statistics, it’s easy to see why. Over the 26.2 miles, Helen and Nathan will run over 5500 steps, will climb 4500 ft and will run in temperatures of up to 37c. The average finish time of the marathon is over eight hours and just 60% of participants will actually complete the challenge.
“It’s epic, it’s monumental, it’s challenging,” says Helen. “Generally, we’re not challenged enough in our society, which is why undertaking this is so exciting.” But this isn’t the only reason Helen’s chosen to undertake the challenge. Helen will be doing it to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society and to raise awareness of the rising amount of plastic in our oceans.
Helen’s chosen charity is the UK’s leading marine charity. The MCS work to ensure the nation’s seas are healthy, pollution free and protected. Their aim is to ensure sustainable use of the seas by minimising harm when harvesting resources, as well as working to prevent and clean up marine litter and pollution and minimising damage from development and climate change.
Marine Conservation is a cause that is very close to Helen’s heart. Since June 2017, Helen has been undertaking her own plastic bottle challenge, vowing not to buy plastic bottles for a whole year. The Marine Conservation Society’s annual beach clean in 2017 revealed that the rubbish washing up on the UK’s beaches is continuing to increase, rising by 10% from the previous 12 months. The MCS beach clean saw 7000 volunteers scour 340 beaches across the country and collect an average of 718 pieces of rubbish every 100 metres.
Most of the litter found is small, unidentifiable fragments of plastic, broken down in the sea from larger objects and is often mistaken for food by fish and birds. But 20% of the rubbish was packaging from “on the go” food and drink products such as plastic bottles, cups, cutlery, stirrers and sandwich packets. “By 2050,” says Helen, “statistics suggest that we could have more plastic in our oceans than fish.”
All money raised from Helen and Nathan’s marathon challenge will go towards marine conservation projects in Devon and Cornwall. If you’d like to donate, then go to Helen’s Virgin Moneygiving page here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HelenPlumridgeGreatWall
Article by King Recruit Limited. www.kingrecruit.com