Hannah Merritt, our Training and Development Co-Ordinator, will be completing a 47km walk as part of the Cotswold Way Challenge in June next year.

The challenge will take Hannah, and her husband Marc who is also taking part, up to 12 hours to complete.

This is the fourth extreme walking challenge Hannah has taken on with this fundraiser taking her from Wotton to Cirencester, with 620m of elevation changes to tackle along the way.

Hannah said: “As someone who suffers from chronic asthma, I have never been able to run very far and so haven’t been able to complete marathons or other highly energetic events. I felt I was missing out on the satisfaction of completing a challenge of some sort.

“I found events that you could walk and decided I would give one a go so that I knew what it felt like to complete something that pushes you to your limits. Once I did one, I was hooked!

“They also have the added benefit of being able to raise money for charities which I also hold close to my heart.”

This is the first time Hannah has chosen to fundraise for Prior’s Court, following on from joining us in March 2019.

Training for the pair is already underway with 10-12km walks being completed every other weekend, before preparation steps up a notch in December with the aim to be easily completing 25km walks by the start of 2021.

Hannah added: “I understand that people don’t have much spare money right now due to the impact of the current pandemic, but this really is a worthwhile cause that will help so many children and young adults so please donate.

“Many people may not have a huge amount of knowledge around autism, which is something I am keen to change and make people aware of through this fundraising.

The young people we have at Prior’s Court deserve the very best for everything they teach us and those that work closely alongside them. Every donation, big or small, will go towards helping our young people live their best lives and be as happy and fulfilled as possible.

To donate, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/hannah-merritt4