A record breaking rowing expedition for an ‘oar-some’ charity.
On the 23rd June 2013, 8 women from Corpus Christi College Boat Club, Oxford will be rowing an astonishing, record-breaking 180km from Oxford to London for the UK charity ‘Beat’.
The expedition will be completed in only 3 days and is the first time that this expedition has been attempted in the name of charity. During the 3 days of the event, the crew will pass through the famous Thames side towns of Goring & Streatley, Henley and Windsor, before finally reaching the finish point at Putney Bridge in London. This is only the second time a female crew has made this journey.
The crew will be raising funds for national charity Beat, which is the UK’s leading charity for eating disorders and provides helplines, online support and a network of UK wide support groups to help adults and young people in the UK beat their eating disorders.
Pushing their bodies to the limit to stop eating disorder sufferers from doing the same.
The charity is of particular significance for one crewmember. Esther rich, now 19, who overcame a severe eating disorder which left her hospitalised for 9 months. Esther attributes her recovery partly due to the fantastic support received by Beat and her motivation to build the physical strength required for rowing. Esther continues:
“Rowing has helped me maintain my recovery, so I think it is fitting to combine that with raising money for Beat. Eating disorders are hugely under-acknowledged, and as I know first hand have devastating effects physically and mentally. We are going to put ourselves under immense pain for a cause we truly believe in, and would love to raise as much money as possible to make that worthwhile!”
The crew is hoping to raise a whopping £10,000 for Beat and have already made significant steps in doing that, having already raised an impressive £2,740. Between now and June, the women from the club will be fundraising, raising awareness of the event and training at times of the day when most of us would be asleep, all while going about their usual studies. Esther concludes:
“Everybody knows somebody who is affected by an eating disorder and if everyone gives something, we will go far in raising the much needed funds to enable Beat to continue its lifesaving work, which touches literally thousands of people a year, all over the UK. It’s about time we all said no to eating disorders.”
ENDS
Nick Watts
PR Consultant
press@nickjwatts.com // 01865 920 501
For more information visit http://www.justgiving.com/londonrow or http://cccbcforbeat.tumblr.com/ and catch up with the latest on Twitter @CCCBCforbeat.
Esther Rich is available for comment and interview; any discussions pertaining to her personal experience of an eating disorder must strictly adhere to the media guidelines issued by Beat, which can be provided on request. For more information please contact Nick Watts on 01865 920 501. A summary personal story is also available upon request.
About eating disorders
Although many disorders develop during adolescence, it is not at all unusual for people to develop eating disorders earlier or later in life. Estimates suggest that a growing number of males are suffering from an eating disorder, making up between 10-25% of sufferers. Illness can last for many years, having a debilitating effect on the sufferers and their families. Research suggests that the earlier treatment is sought and given, the better the sufferer's chance of recovery.
During a parliamentary debate on Thursday 14th February, Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and
Southampton North and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on body image, highlighted the huge extent of this problem.
"Some 1.6 million people in this country have been or are currently known to be affected by eating disorders. That is a massive number, equivalent to nearly 2,500 in every parliamentary constituency. However, the number of unknown sufferers is also of significant concern. The Department of Health acknowledges that unreported cases of eating disorders are a huge problem, and the true figure could be higher than 4 million, which is 6.5% of the UK population, or about 7,000 people per constituency."
For more information:
Further information about eating disorders and media guidelines are available on the Beat web site.
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