‘Spring into Action for’ the Bereavement Service

WITH the promise of brighter days ahead, islanders are encouraged to Spring into Action for the Guernsey Bereavement Service and move a marathon distance in March.

Georgie Rowbrey Reporter

Published Today, 7:20am

The Guernsey Bereavement Service is holding a ‘Spring into Action’ event asking people to complete a marathon over 26 days by running, walking or swimming. Left to right, Becky Humphries with Kaiya will be walking with her buggy, Roy Angliss will complete it on the golf course, Trish De Carteret will cycle, Sue Hollwey will be walking and Liz Pirouet Douglas will be walking her dog, Bonnie. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 34645240) / Guernsey Press

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Individuals and businesses are invited to join the inaugural challenge, set by the GBS, to help raise funds and awareness of its therapy services for those grieving. Starting on Tuesday, it wants to encourage people to walk, run, swim or cycle their way to reach 26.2 miles by 29 March.

GBS manager Liz Pirouet Douglas said that promoting physical activity and supporting mental health were vital pillars of a healthy mind and workplace.

‘We realise that grief is a marathon not a sprint,’ she said.

‘This is a really important phrase for us. Like a marathon, grief asks for endurance not speed.

‘Some days you walk, some days you run. I also think that some days, you just stop. That’s why we’re not asking people to do a mile a day. Because there are some days that you can’t do anything if you’re grieving. But you might feel good enough to do three miles on another day.

‘We’re launching this initiative in spring time, when the weather’s getting better, the flowers are coming up and hopefully that will inspire participants to see spring come to life. We’d love as many corporate teams to take part as possible. Everybody can do it at their own speed, and to their own ability.

‘As a charity, we’re having to become more resilient and reliant on ourselves to raise funds. Any money raised will go towards making our service bigger and better, and ensuring that we’re here for people in the future.’

Everyone will be invited to walk the final 1.2 miles together, at Saumarez Park on 29 March. Further details will soon be announced.

n Anyone keen to join can register as an individual or business team at https://race-nation.co.uk/register/guernsey-bereavement-service/spring-into-action-for-guernsey-bereavement-service, or by contacting manager@gbs.org.gg.