Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Dundee University took the decision to close campus in an attempt to safeguard their students' health. This meant the end of sports club activity as well as DUBC's annual ergathon! (Which had been running since 2002 ). As a club, we felt it was still important to raise money for causes close to our hearts, even if we were spread across the world. With this in mind, Club Captain Alasdair Iredale came up with the idea of holding Marathon May in order to help support the NHS Tayside as well as the wider NHS.
Marathon May entailed travelling over 9000km to virtually reach Tokyo, Japan in time for the now-cancelled Summer Olympics. Members would run, cycle and row at home whilst recording their work on the fitness app- Strava. At the beginning of May we had set out to travel 2857km, this was in order to virtually reach Marathon, Greece- we completed this in only 14 days. The question was... how do we continue? After a further committee meeting, we decided to re-adjust our target and aim towards Tokyo, Japan, travelling an extra 6243Km in only 16 days! To do this, we opened our doors to other clubs and groups. Using our Alumni network, we were able to recruit a large number of past members to help us, whilst also inviting Dundee University Swimming and Water Polo Club to join in as well.
In the following weeks, our now 80 strong team consistently logged monumental milage, with some of us recording six-hour sessions! This allowed us to not only reach Tokyo but also push past it and travel a further 1593Km by the end of May.
Throughout our efforts, we have been supported by a whole host of generous individuals who donated to our JustGiving Page. With their help, we were able to raise £708, representing 141% of our original financial goal. The first £500 will be split between our local NHS Tayside charity and NHS Charities Together. The latter supports 230 charities who work throughout the United Kingdom. The additional £208 will be sent to Dundee's Feeling Strong, whose mission it is " to improve the lives of young people living with mental health challenges by fostering the skills, confidence and aspirations they need to flourish "
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