We’ve got some free charity spaces up for grabs for the upcoming Spartan races this year. But what is the Spartan race, and what makes it different from your standard charity run? In this week’s blog we explain the challenge, and ask you if you are up for it.

The Spartan race is not your average run. The course is filled with pits of mud to wade through, walls to scale, and plenty of other obstacles designed to test your strength and endurance to the maximum.

Rather than following roads or paths, Spartan races are often set in the beautiful countryside, and are very much off-road. Leading you across countryside, through lakes, and over hills, the races come in a variety of lengths, from 5km to 20km, and are held at multiple locations across the country. They are the ultimate obstacle course, and there is a Spartan race for everyone!

We have gained charity places to be used at any of the races this year, from the Sprints to the more challenging Beasts. We are giving these places away for free. All we ask in return is you raise money for the AKU Society while you’re at it!

Will you, or one of your fellow adventurers, take up the challenge, and raise money for the AKU Society in return for your completely free space? The race usually costs over £70 per person, so to make the race worthwhile, we are asking you to raise a minimum of £100 in return for your free place. Once your friends and family hear about the epic challenge you are undertaking, we believe raising this much should be an easy feat!

Our nearest race here in Cambridge is the Cambridgeshire Sprint event, being held on 5th September at Elton Hall, near Peterborough. A member of the AKU Society team has already committed to taking part in this event, and we are hoping even more of you will join us for this challenge. If you can’t do this date, or want a bigger challenge than just 5km, don’t worry! There are several other races taking place across the country, and you can see the full list here.

So how do you get your free space?

Simply email Sorsha (sorsha@akusociety.org) to get more information, and find out how to get your code. This code will allow you to book your free space on a Spartan race of your choice in 2015. Whether you want to walk it, sprint it, or even crawl it, we are behind you all the way. We can even help you set up your fundraising page to start getting sponsorship!

All your fundraising efforts will go towards improving our services for patients, and supporting them by providing information and funding research. We are currently organising a special international patient workshop which will take place in Liverpool in April next year. Patients around the world have varied access to information and care, and we want to give everyone a chance to come together to learn about their disease from our experts in Liverpool.

We already have funding to cover the event itself, but we still need to raise money to help patients with their travel costs, so everyone has an equal opportunity to attend this event. This is one of the big things we are fundraising for at the moment, and your money could really help us to make this event a reality and a success.

Many people with AKU lose mobility, and become disabled over time due to the effects of the disease. Our ultimate goal is to prevent this from happening, so every patient is fit and able throughout their lives. With clinical trials underway, we believe we can meet this target. Perhaps in the future, all AKU patients will be fit enough to take part in a Spartan race! If you are fit and able, help us reach this goal by signing up to a race today.

Contact Sorsha to take part by emailing sorsha@akusociety.org or ring the office to find out more on 01223 322897.