Ten British plus sized women will run the Sierra Leone marathon dubbed the craziest in the in the world to smash conceptions of what it is to be a runner.

This June, ten plus sized women will travel to run the Sierra Leone Marathon, challenging running stereotypes and raising £100,000 in the process for global charity Street Child which aims to get children back into education.

The group are led by Julie Creffield, founder of “Too Fat To Run” and “The Fat Girls Guide to Running” which have brought together thousands of plus size women across the UK who believe that size should not be a barrier to running.

On taking on the challenge Julie said:”The last two years have been really challenging for a lot of women in my community with many of the women caring for other people, making it difficult to put their fitness goals first. This challenge gives them something to focus on besides their families and work. This project is about us getting back out there into the world and finding hope where there has been none. The ten women will support each other every step of the way, inspiring other women as they go, knowing that the £100,000 that we raise will leave a legacy for children and young people around the world and also challenge people’s expectation about what everyday women can do.”

Julie began The Fat Girls Guide to Running as a personal blog which told the story of how she came from an obese binge drinker to a 2012 sub-6-hour London Marathon runner. Her story did not end there. After having to stop running for nine months to have her first child, Julie began to see running not as a one-off solution to weight loss but as a long-term lifestyle choice, whatever your size. The Fat Girls Guide to Running is now a community of 25,000 plus larger women who all have a passion for sports and exercise.

It is from this community that Julie has selected ten women to take on what runner’s world magazine has dubbed “the craziest marathon in the world”- The Sierra Leone Marathon. Amid searing temperatures, runners wind through tropical jungle and remote villages, The Sierra Leone Marathon, now in it’s 10th year, is organised by the charity Street Child. Street Child works to ensure children are safe, in school and learning in low resource environments and emergencies such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Cameroon and Bangladesh.

Katherine Barr, this year’s project manager said: “We are so excited to welcome Julie and her group of women to Sierra Leone. We want to showcase that marathons in tough conditions are not just for the super fit and ultra-runners. On the 10th anniversary of the Sierra Leone Marathon, we want to prove that anyone can run.”

You can join Julie for the adventure of a lifetime. To sign up to run the Sierra Leone Marathon with Julie visit the Street Child website: https://www.street-child.co.uk/sierra-leone-marathon

Video link: Video link: Sierra Leone Marathon 2022- It’s back!