Lily Ritchie took part in the Leeds Half Marathon on Sunday and raised £959 for local charity, Survive.

Says Ms Ritchie, “I chose Survive as they helped me back in 2021. I decided to come to university to have a fresh start after leaving an abusive relationship and Survive provided me with free counselling. I don’t think I would be the person I am now without it. When it came to supporting a charity, there was no doubt it was going to be Survive. When I crossed the finish line, I couldn’t help but cry happy tears, thinking about how I’ve helped raise money to support those that need it.”

Lily, who only started training for the 21km run in January, says fundraising was easy with the support of her friends and family, and using social media to spread the word. Ms Ritchie says, “As it was my first running event, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the distance because I’d only ran up to 18km, and so the jump to 21km felt a lot. However, it was such a wonderful atmosphere, there is something really special about being in Yorkshire. There were hundreds of people lined up all down the streets cheering me on saying my name. Which felt really special.”

CEO of Survive, Mags Godderidge said, “We are honoured that Lily ran for Survive. We are seeing unprecedented demand for our specialist services. The money raised by Lily will help others to rebuild their lives and relationships and achieve their full potential.”

Originally established in 1990 as peer-led support for women with shared histories of child sexual abuse (CSA), Survive now delivers a range of trauma-informed services and trauma-specific interventions to survivors of sexual violence and abuse, and counselling services to survivors of domestic violence and abuse.

Donate to Lily’s Just Giving here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/lily-ritchie-1705932148581