North-east charity shop volunteer fundraises by running lockdown marathon

A north-east man will run 210km during the coronavirus lockdown to help support the charity shop he volunteers for.

Jamie Rendall, 21, volunteers at Barnardos in Portlethen which is currently shut down due to the pandemic.

To continue to help the charity, he has launched a fundraising campaign where he will run 10km around the Aberdeen area each day for a period of 21 days of lockdown.

Jamie said: “Since the shop had to temporarily close due to the coronavirus pandemic and therefore unable to receive donations and raise money, I thought it would be a great idea to set up my own fundraiser to try to help out.

“I wanted to do something that I was good at, which happens to be running, to help vulnerable young people and their families who are affected by coronavirus. I also felt the need to focus on something positive which would help to create a structure in my day during the lockdown period whilst doing something to help less fortunate people.”

Jamie has set up a Barnardo’s Scotland fundraiser page on Facebook and uploads his daily progress using the Nike Running app which tracks his time and distance”.

Martin Crewe, director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “I would like to offer a very big thank you to Jamie, we are so grateful to people like him who continue to support the charity through these difficult times.”

Although Jamie is really motivated by reaching and setting targets, he is finding running 10km for 21 days is proving “challenging”.

Jamie said: “I have not tried running to this level before. I’m finding that I’m pushing through pain barriers every day which are all completely new to me.

“However the runs are having a positive impact on my own mental health as I am contributing to making a difference to the lives of vulnerable young people so that they can achieve their full potential.

“I am really enjoying volunteering with Barnardo’s Scotland and in the longer term would definitely consider a future career within the charity sector.”

Jamie started his daily runs on March 25 and with just under a week to go there is still plenty time for people to support him on his 210km fundraiser.