A 42km run to raise £5,000 (around €5,817) for Refood Almancil – a local branch of a larger charity that aims to stop food from going to waste – is being organised by two Algarve business owners.
Joe Mountain from SandyBlue rental agency in Almancil and John Seabrook (also known as J) from BJs Oceanside Restaurant at Praia do Almargem in Quarteira will be attempting the challenging run on Friday, March 26.
The route will begin and end at the restaurant and will see them running through Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and along the Ria Formosa estuary.
While Joe is a seasoned marathon runner, having completed more than 30 marathons including the 250km Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, the 100km Mountain Ultra in the Himalayas and the 250km The Jungle Ultra in Peru, J is more of a part-time runner.
“There’s a difference between running for half an hour or hitting the gym for an hour and running for four hours straight,” J told the Resident.
“I’m 38 now, I’m no spring chicken, but I’m fit and I’m confident it will go well,” he added.
While the run has been giving them something to do during this latest lockdown, the overriding goal is to help people who have been hit hard by the pandemic.
As they write on their crowdfunding page, “with unemployment levels rising by around 60%, the region is one of the worst hit in Europe. The end result is that many good, honest, working families have been left with nothing.”
J explained that they are very familiar with Refood Almancil’s work as some of their staff members are volunteers.
“Food banks are a great way to ensure that these families can survive until the economy is able to open up and welcome tourists back to the Algarve,” they add.
Refood was created in 2011. Its goal is to collect excess food from supply partners, store it in containers, and take it to its operation centres where it is divided into portions and are distributed to people in need.
There are three Refood centres in the Algarve – Faro, Almancil and Algoz-Tunes.
To support Joe and J’s initiative and make a donation, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jandjoesjog. You can also learn more about Refood at https://www.re-food.org/
By MICHAEL BRUXO
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