29 April 2019
Well done Dan
Well done Dan Barber for surviving a radio interview on Friday and then for crossing the marathon finish line in 3 hours 38 mins and 32 seconds on Sunday (seen to left of pic in pale grey running vest & red cap)! Congratulations and thank you for raising more than £1500 for us.
Dan says "What an amazing experience that was!!! I completed my first marathon on Sunday in 3:38:32.
The day started with a tube ride as we stayed in London the night before, I left alone as my support team would see me later and the start area is so busy. The tube ride 5 stops on the DLR each station the train was packed with more people bound for the start, it was strange to be surrounded by people but feel a bit lonely as well as nervous.
My start time 10:20, the minutes felt like hours and after several last loo visits it was time! Thousands of people excited and apprehensively moved towards the start line, the countdown for our wave began and the noise grew…3 2 1 GO!
I started well and the miles clocked up, I saw some friends from running club in the crowds as well as my cheer team everything was going so well until mile 20, cramp set in and the battle really started between mind and body. I edged on but my pace dropped off, I had also missed my team in the crowd as they had been moved by stewards for safety reasons. “GO ON DAN” strangers in the sea of faces willed me on and the miles continued to pass, in the distance 800m to go on a big red board. I tried to find a little bit more but I was spent, I did cross the line and it was harder than I thought but “WOW I DID IT”
Thank you to absolutely everyone who has supported me along the way, Andy and his team at Freedom leisure, Les and the staff at MTCC, Steve my bro for DJing the disco, everyone who attended, supported and donated and of course Red2Green for giving me the chance to participate in this prestigious event"
Click here to go to Dan's fundraising page
Well done Dan
Well done Dan Barber for surviving a radio interview on Friday and then for crossing the marathon finish line in 3 hours 38 mins and 32 seconds on Sunday (seen to left of pic in pale grey running vest & red cap)! Congratulations and thank you for raising more than £1500 for us.
Dan says "What an amazing experience that was!!! I completed my first marathon on Sunday in 3:38:32.
The day started with a tube ride as we stayed in London the night before, I left alone as my support team would see me later and the start area is so busy. The tube ride 5 stops on the DLR each station the train was packed with more people bound for the start, it was strange to be surrounded by people but feel a bit lonely as well as nervous.
My start time 10:20, the minutes felt like hours and after several last loo visits it was time! Thousands of people excited and apprehensively moved towards the start line, the countdown for our wave began and the noise grew…3 2 1 GO!
I started well and the miles clocked up, I saw some friends from running club in the crowds as well as my cheer team everything was going so well until mile 20, cramp set in and the battle really started between mind and body. I edged on but my pace dropped off, I had also missed my team in the crowd as they had been moved by stewards for safety reasons. “GO ON DAN” strangers in the sea of faces willed me on and the miles continued to pass, in the distance 800m to go on a big red board. I tried to find a little bit more but I was spent, I did cross the line and it was harder than I thought but “WOW I DID IT”
Thank you to absolutely everyone who has supported me along the way, Andy and his team at Freedom leisure, Les and the staff at MTCC, Steve my bro for DJing the disco, everyone who attended, supported and donated and of course Red2Green for giving me the chance to participate in this prestigious event"
Click here to go to Dan's fundraising page
1 April 2019
D I S C O
We sang and danced and hit my fundraising total.
A massive thank you to everyone who has donated in any way so far
Less than a month to go and everything is going very nicely, training is about to slow down a little, my fundraising events were brilliant and I have hit my initial target but I will keep pushing. This will be my last big mileage running week, in the final build up I’m focusing on fitness and nutrition.
I have been lucky along the way having had the support of a lot of amazing people who have given me the confidence to push myself but know I have a safety net too. I have stayed injury free and focused thanks largely to my wife who has nudged me on when the going has got tough, but also been the voice of reason making sure I do have the odd rest day.
It might be a little bit premature as I still need to cross the finish line, but I have already accomplished far more than I thought I could mentally and physically.
The stress of being 30 mins into a Disco and it’s only you and the DJ. The euphoria of the last song of the night singing at the top of your voice surrounded by loved ones.
The strain of 3 more miles in to a 50mph head wind. The pride of a Personal Best.
Bring it on London, I’m ready
13 March 2019
Here I am after a fantastic frenetic weekend at the Fitness Festival at Freedom Leisure Centre Chatteris in aid of Red2Green
The day was an amazing success raising over £600 in the process. It’s very emotional for me knowing how generous people can be with time, energy and other resources. When I got over the initial awkwardness of asking for help (have you ever tried blowing up 30 balloons without a pump?), donations and prizes I found that people are keen to get involved if they can. I don’t know about everyone else but I was a bit stiff the next day and had a race to take part in, luckily it was only 5 miles!
The Marathon is now just 47 days away. This week will finish with the Milton Keynes 20 Mile race as well as speed training with my running club, strength and core work in the gym, stretching session and a couple of gentle tempo runs.
A special thanks to Liz Taylor Red2Green’s Chief Operating Officer for throwing herself into everything and instructing me on banner building - the answer is to fix the top first then extend it, it stayed up all day and didn’t fall on anyone!
Back in to promotion mode now as I still have Disco tickets to sell, for my next fundraiser: Friday 29 March 2019 7pm–11pm, at March Cricket Club, Burrowmoor Rd PE15 9RS, £7 per ticket (sorry over 18’s only). If you’d like a ticket please call me on 07734 966275 or email me at hdbtigboo@googlemail.com
Click here to go to Dan's fundraising page
D I S C O
We sang and danced and hit my fundraising total.
A massive thank you to everyone who has donated in any way so far
Less than a month to go and everything is going very nicely, training is about to slow down a little, my fundraising events were brilliant and I have hit my initial target but I will keep pushing. This will be my last big mileage running week, in the final build up I’m focusing on fitness and nutrition.
I have been lucky along the way having had the support of a lot of amazing people who have given me the confidence to push myself but know I have a safety net too. I have stayed injury free and focused thanks largely to my wife who has nudged me on when the going has got tough, but also been the voice of reason making sure I do have the odd rest day.
It might be a little bit premature as I still need to cross the finish line, but I have already accomplished far more than I thought I could mentally and physically.
The stress of being 30 mins into a Disco and it’s only you and the DJ. The euphoria of the last song of the night singing at the top of your voice surrounded by loved ones.
The strain of 3 more miles in to a 50mph head wind. The pride of a Personal Best.
Bring it on London, I’m ready
13 March 2019
Here I am after a fantastic frenetic weekend at the Fitness Festival at Freedom Leisure Centre Chatteris in aid of Red2Green
The day was an amazing success raising over £600 in the process. It’s very emotional for me knowing how generous people can be with time, energy and other resources. When I got over the initial awkwardness of asking for help (have you ever tried blowing up 30 balloons without a pump?), donations and prizes I found that people are keen to get involved if they can. I don’t know about everyone else but I was a bit stiff the next day and had a race to take part in, luckily it was only 5 miles!
The Marathon is now just 47 days away. This week will finish with the Milton Keynes 20 Mile race as well as speed training with my running club, strength and core work in the gym, stretching session and a couple of gentle tempo runs.
A special thanks to Liz Taylor Red2Green’s Chief Operating Officer for throwing herself into everything and instructing me on banner building - the answer is to fix the top first then extend it, it stayed up all day and didn’t fall on anyone!
Back in to promotion mode now as I still have Disco tickets to sell, for my next fundraiser: Friday 29 March 2019 7pm–11pm, at March Cricket Club, Burrowmoor Rd PE15 9RS, £7 per ticket (sorry over 18’s only). If you’d like a ticket please call me on 07734 966275 or email me at hdbtigboo@googlemail.com
Click here to go to Dan's fundraising page
5 February 2019
Meet Dan our marathon man
Hi I’m Dan Barber and I have the privilege of running the London Marathon to raise funds for Red2Green. I’m 35 and married and with a son. Since leaving school I have always been mechanically minded, working on cars and then moving on to forklift trucks.
In around 2010, after much protesting I got up off of the sofa and joined my wife running . We trained hard together doing some local 3-6 mile races and the following year entered the Peterborough half marathon - we got round but we weren’t going to give Mo Farah any cause for concern. Then we had our son and our running took a back seat for a while.
Then three or four years ago I started running through Parkrun - who organise weekly, 5km timed runs all over the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in. I re-joined my running club and started to enter local races again, I could see my progress and started to dare I say “enjoy” running.
In 2018 I thought I needed to challenge myself again and took part in the ‘Round Norfolk Relay’ a 17 stage team race around the entire Norfolk boarder and 2 ½ Marathons. The ballot opened for the 2019 London Marathon and after much deliberating I entered my application, “don’t worry” I told myself “loads of people apply I probably won’t get a place”. November came and then slowly people reported on Facebook if they were in or not. My letter arrived ‘sorry unsuccessful this time’, to my surprise I found I was actually disappointed, “Oh well, I’ll look at other events instead”.
In passing my wife mentioned her friend Liz Taylor and a charity called Red2Green might have a place. After a quick internet search it sounded like a fantastic opportunity and after a flow of e-mails it was agreed and here I am! Let the hard work begin.
I was invited to meet the team at their head office at Harvey’s Barn in Swaffham Bulbeck and their fantastic café and sensory garden in Bottisham. Thank you to everyone for this opportunity, I will do my best to promote and fundraise for this amazing organisation and the awesome work it does.
Click here to go to Dan's fundraising page
Meet Dan our marathon man
Hi I’m Dan Barber and I have the privilege of running the London Marathon to raise funds for Red2Green. I’m 35 and married and with a son. Since leaving school I have always been mechanically minded, working on cars and then moving on to forklift trucks.
In around 2010, after much protesting I got up off of the sofa and joined my wife running . We trained hard together doing some local 3-6 mile races and the following year entered the Peterborough half marathon - we got round but we weren’t going to give Mo Farah any cause for concern. Then we had our son and our running took a back seat for a while.
Then three or four years ago I started running through Parkrun - who organise weekly, 5km timed runs all over the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in. I re-joined my running club and started to enter local races again, I could see my progress and started to dare I say “enjoy” running.
In 2018 I thought I needed to challenge myself again and took part in the ‘Round Norfolk Relay’ a 17 stage team race around the entire Norfolk boarder and 2 ½ Marathons. The ballot opened for the 2019 London Marathon and after much deliberating I entered my application, “don’t worry” I told myself “loads of people apply I probably won’t get a place”. November came and then slowly people reported on Facebook if they were in or not. My letter arrived ‘sorry unsuccessful this time’, to my surprise I found I was actually disappointed, “Oh well, I’ll look at other events instead”.
In passing my wife mentioned her friend Liz Taylor and a charity called Red2Green might have a place. After a quick internet search it sounded like a fantastic opportunity and after a flow of e-mails it was agreed and here I am! Let the hard work begin.
I was invited to meet the team at their head office at Harvey’s Barn in Swaffham Bulbeck and their fantastic café and sensory garden in Bottisham. Thank you to everyone for this opportunity, I will do my best to promote and fundraise for this amazing organisation and the awesome work it does.
Click here to go to Dan's fundraising page
2 February 2019
Training and training with Liz Taylor COO
“Learn to do the common things uncommonly well” – George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver was an agricultural scientist and inventor in the 19th Century who was always helping people. He was the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree and also went on to earn a Master of Agriculture.
I love his quote “Learn to do the common things uncommonly well” and so with my Couch 2 5K challenge I am doing a ‘learn to run’ course. I’ve felt out of my comfort zone many times, especially when I was asked “to run like a pony” - I am assured it helps with placing my feet! And apparently arm drills help with getting the speed correct and being able to sprint - I never realised running was such a science.
At Red2Green we strive to provide an exceptional service and that means that occasionally we have to shut for staff training although we do try to keep closures to a minimum. Wednesday 13 February is one of those dates – when we will be shut so staff can update their first aid training.
We also offer the people who use our services the chance to be trained, for example some of our learners at the café have been trained in food hygiene and how to deal with customers. Below is Richard receiving his certificate of achievement. We are all learning here and we look forward doing things uncommonly well!
Training and training with Liz Taylor COO
“Learn to do the common things uncommonly well” – George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver was an agricultural scientist and inventor in the 19th Century who was always helping people. He was the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Science degree and also went on to earn a Master of Agriculture.
I love his quote “Learn to do the common things uncommonly well” and so with my Couch 2 5K challenge I am doing a ‘learn to run’ course. I’ve felt out of my comfort zone many times, especially when I was asked “to run like a pony” - I am assured it helps with placing my feet! And apparently arm drills help with getting the speed correct and being able to sprint - I never realised running was such a science.
At Red2Green we strive to provide an exceptional service and that means that occasionally we have to shut for staff training although we do try to keep closures to a minimum. Wednesday 13 February is one of those dates – when we will be shut so staff can update their first aid training.
We also offer the people who use our services the chance to be trained, for example some of our learners at the café have been trained in food hygiene and how to deal with customers. Below is Richard receiving his certificate of achievement. We are all learning here and we look forward doing things uncommonly well!
10 January 2019
Loving life-long learning with Liz Taylor COO
‘Teachers teach and Learners Learn’ is a phrase I came across when I worked in education. However, I don’t believe it’s true. We all learn from each other and our experiences in life.
I didn’t think I enjoyed learning when I was at school, but I had to do it. Now, I am older I love learning, as long as it is something that sparks an interest in me. Since I started at Red2Green I have had to learn lots and I am thriving on it. I love learning about the organisation, about those who attend, about how charities are run, about other organisations we work with. Every day I learn something new.
We call the people who come to Harvey’s Barn ‘learners’ even though they aren’t all learning a curriculum. In Aspirations (for anyone over 16 yrs on the Autistic Spectrum) learning is centred around new skills such as social interaction, being healthy and staying safe etc. This is done by working with our learners to find out what they really want to know more about, and that way
everyone learns something new.
In Options (for adults with learning disabilities) we learn through a wide range of activities such as cooking, art, drama, keep fit, Tai Chi, gardening or going out in to the community.
What you have learnt today?
Loving life-long learning with Liz Taylor COO
‘Teachers teach and Learners Learn’ is a phrase I came across when I worked in education. However, I don’t believe it’s true. We all learn from each other and our experiences in life.
I didn’t think I enjoyed learning when I was at school, but I had to do it. Now, I am older I love learning, as long as it is something that sparks an interest in me. Since I started at Red2Green I have had to learn lots and I am thriving on it. I love learning about the organisation, about those who attend, about how charities are run, about other organisations we work with. Every day I learn something new.
We call the people who come to Harvey’s Barn ‘learners’ even though they aren’t all learning a curriculum. In Aspirations (for anyone over 16 yrs on the Autistic Spectrum) learning is centred around new skills such as social interaction, being healthy and staying safe etc. This is done by working with our learners to find out what they really want to know more about, and that way
everyone learns something new.
In Options (for adults with learning disabilities) we learn through a wide range of activities such as cooking, art, drama, keep fit, Tai Chi, gardening or going out in to the community.
What you have learnt today?
4 January 2019
Running and day-to-day running with Liz Taylor, Chief Operating Officer
Happy New Year! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write about all that happens here at Red2Green.
I’ve been here 4 months, the time has gone so fast and I feel so settled that I can’t imagine being anywhere else! Seeing the work here has been a privilege and I have been honoured to quickly become part of the team. Highlights for me have been lunch with the Ely drop-in with Support (for people living with mental ill health), carving pumpkins with Aspirations (for people on the autistic spectrum) and the Christmas meal with Options (for people with a learning disability). I love having lunch at the Hearts and Crafts Community Café and Garden, the café apprentices do a fantastic job.
Our staff here are amazing at working on tight budgets. A lot of work goes in to fundraising and it makes such a difference, but there is always more needed, for furniture, a new kitchen, equipment, activities and more. We are so grateful to all the organisations that raise money for us (the photo shows me collecting a cheque from the Co Op’s community fund from the Fulbourn store).
One day Jackie (our CEO) and I were chatting about running, Jackie is an avid runner I am definitely not! Knowing that raising more money would make a difference I, possibly stupidly, agreed to start running and raise money. I’ve signed up for a 10k in June and I plan on running a half marathon with Jackie in November. That means I need to start training, as I currently don’t run. I’m nervous about it – but I know I can make a difference to our clients with the money I raise and that is my motivation. So, my job is to ensure smooth running of our services, but now I am running in my spare time too!
Running and day-to-day running with Liz Taylor, Chief Operating Officer
Happy New Year! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write about all that happens here at Red2Green.
I’ve been here 4 months, the time has gone so fast and I feel so settled that I can’t imagine being anywhere else! Seeing the work here has been a privilege and I have been honoured to quickly become part of the team. Highlights for me have been lunch with the Ely drop-in with Support (for people living with mental ill health), carving pumpkins with Aspirations (for people on the autistic spectrum) and the Christmas meal with Options (for people with a learning disability). I love having lunch at the Hearts and Crafts Community Café and Garden, the café apprentices do a fantastic job.
Our staff here are amazing at working on tight budgets. A lot of work goes in to fundraising and it makes such a difference, but there is always more needed, for furniture, a new kitchen, equipment, activities and more. We are so grateful to all the organisations that raise money for us (the photo shows me collecting a cheque from the Co Op’s community fund from the Fulbourn store).
One day Jackie (our CEO) and I were chatting about running, Jackie is an avid runner I am definitely not! Knowing that raising more money would make a difference I, possibly stupidly, agreed to start running and raise money. I’ve signed up for a 10k in June and I plan on running a half marathon with Jackie in November. That means I need to start training, as I currently don’t run. I’m nervous about it – but I know I can make a difference to our clients with the money I raise and that is my motivation. So, my job is to ensure smooth running of our services, but now I am running in my spare time too!