Ho ho ho! Santas ready on the start line for charity run

Lisa Cowley, the Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Centre for the Blind, will be one of more than 120 runners in the 2019 Santa Run, an event organised by Beacon three years ago to increase awareness of the centre and help with fundraising.

Lisa, who has been the CEO of Beacon since December 2018, is an active runner, having taken part in the Tough Guy run in Wolverhampton in September and a number of other running events around the region.

She will be taking on a new challenge as part of the 5K run around West Park in Wolverhampton as she will be acting as a guide runner for a member of staff at Beacon.

Lisa spoke about how Dal Bhutta, who works in the charity shop, approached her to partner him in the run.

She said: "Here at Beacon, we like to make it good fun. I say to people it's not like any other organisation I work in, it is one big family.

"When Dal asked me if I wanted to run as his guide runner when I was training in the rehabilitation gym one morning, I said yes as I thought it would be really good fun, not just to run it, but also to get to know him a bit better."

Lisa has taken training from British Blind Sport on how to act as a guide runner and has done a trial run with Dal, helping her appreciate the number of different skills required to be a good guide runner.

She said: "I think the most difficult thing when you're guide running is that you've got to keep running the whole way, but you've also got to talk for the entirety of it.

"That means giving the person you're with information around what route you're going, what direction you're going and describing what the surface is, such as if are there leaves on the ground they might slip on.

"When Dal and I did a bit of a trial run, I was pointing out wildlife, pigeons, squirrels and a full nature trail, free of charge!"

The Santa Run, which is being sponsored by healthcare providers Paycare, will see all runners wearing Santa-related outfits, with costumes provided and small children getting a Santa hat, and all finishers getting a medal.

Lisa has said the aims of the run are to increase awareness of the centre and also raise some money, while also having some fun and getting people active.

She praised Dal, who has already raised £250 from people visiting the shop and who she describes as an inspiration.

She said: "Dal is an amazing member of the Beacon family and he doesn't let his visual impairment hold him back, be it in his work or in saying I'm going to do this personal challenge or absolutely anything he does and I think the things Dal does in his work life and social life is exactly the same as everybody else.

"He likes to go down the pub and have a drink and he likes to go out with his friends and socialise and I think it's a real testament to him that just because you've got a sight condition, it doesn't mean that you can't do anything that anybody else does."

The Beacon Santa Run takes place on Sunday, December 1 at West Park, Wolverhampton, starting at 9.30am, with a cost of £15 to enter.

To find out more details and to get a sponsorship form, go to www.beaconvision.org/event/santarun2019/