Whitchurch: A godmother runs a tough ultra-marathon in the desert
THE godmother of an 11-year-old disabled girl from Whitchurch will run a challenging six-day ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert to raise money for charity.
Andrea Millar is godmother to Zoe Goode and she will be taking part in the Marathon Des Sables (MdS) in April to raise money for Scope, a disability charity.
Zoe suffers from cerebral palsy, is deaf, has learning difficulties and is physically disabled on the left side of her body.
However, Andrea said her goddaughter does not allow her difficulties to prevent her from participating in various physical challenges.
She added: “Zoe has cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and she is deaf.
“She’s physically disabled on the left side of her body, but she’s not letting any of that stop her too much.
“She takes on all kinds of challenges, including dances in competitions with her dance school team and as she recently did in her first duet dance.
“She recently competed in a marathon team swim and swam 1,000 meters herself.
Zoe Goode.
“There’s no stopping this girl.
“She has so much strength and determination and deals with her disabilities on a daily basis without complaining, constantly smiling and being the most impressive and inspiring young woman who constantly makes me proud, this one’s for you.”
Andrea spoke about the difficult terrain she will face.
She added: “The MdS is a six-day ultramarathon race of 150 to 156 miles.
“But it’s not just the distance that makes it the toughest race on the planet.
“The pitch is tough, he will demand my respect.
“I will carry my bag, food and everything I need for the six days.
“I will sleep in communal tents for eight people in a bivouac village.”
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The godmother said she would train hard for the event.
She added: “I have a huge amount of training to do now and Zoe will be my inspiration to finish this.
“Zoe will be joining me on a few training runs and inspiring me over the next few months of training.”
Andrea credited her sponsors for allowing her to secure her spot.
She said: “I’ve been so lucky to have six amazing sponsors to allow me to even consider doing this and start fundraising and securing my spot.
“Thank you to CHATWINS Bakers and Confectioners, D&G Office Supplies Ltd, The Cheshire Cat, Lumos Electrical Inspiring Travel and Tilsun Leasing.
“I would also like to thank Cheshire Work & Leisure Wear Ltd for printing and supplying the T-shirts.”
You can sponsor Andrea via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Andrea-Millar-MdS