Bishop of Ripon runs 68 miles in January to raise funds for farming charities

The Rt Rev’d Dr Helen-Ann Hartley first picked up her running shoes in 2019 when she completed the popular Coach to 5k programme.

And now she has put her hobby to good use by joining Run1000, a campaign to raise funds for farming charities across the UK.

The Bishop, who was installed in Ripon in 2018, ran a total of 68 miles across January on her daily exercise routine around Ripon's streets.

As a trustee of the Farming Community Network, the Bishop has a passion for ensuring farmers and rural communities receive good mental health support.

The Bishop is a regular at Ripon Running Club and prior to lockdown, could often be seen taking part in park runs at Fountains Abbey.

She said: "I wanted to get behind the challenge and support it.

"I tend to run between five and fifteen kilometres each run.

"Lockdown has been challenging - everyone has faced challenges. My role has been providing support to clergy, and I think I realised I was spending all day on Zoom in my office.

"The discipline and physicality of getting out and running, I found really beneficial to both my physcial wellbeing and mental wellbeing.

"A lot of the help the charities provide to farming communities focuses on mental health in particular. Farming communities are really impacted by mental health and have a disproportionate number of suicides, and there's a relentlessness in what farmers have been facing over the past few months with bad weather and Brexit.

"These charities are a helping hand and a listening ear which is so vital."

Some £44,745 has now been raised through Run 1000, which was the brainchild of farmer Sheena Horner.