15 years running at the Bath Half: Charles' story

As we are getting closer to the Bath Half Marathon, we have been catching up with some of our participants who will be running for Julian House.

Introducing Charles Heywood, who will be running at the Bath Half for the 15^th time this year. We caught up with Charles to ask him a few questions before the race.

Why did you choose to run for Julian House at the Bath Half?

I do it for Julian House because, having taken up running in late 2005, I was inspired to run the Bath Half the following Spring as a result of reading an article in the Chronicle about a Julian House user who was training to do it for the first time.

Due to health issues I had to stop running for four years, before re-starting in 2023 - when I ran for Julian House. I was away for the 2024 race, and left it too late to join your team last year, but I'm back and looking forward to running this year's Half. 

How do you find fundraising for this challenge?

Of course, I wouldn't return to the same circles of friends, family and community colleagues for sponsorship year in, year out, if I didn't feel strongly that what Julian House does for the homeless in Bath is very important.

How have you prepared for this year’s Bath Half?

So far in preparation for this year's half marathon, I have done a couple of Parkruns and last Saturday completed the 7 mile route which I used to try and do every Saturday when I was working.

I'll aim to do one or two short runs in between long runs as race day approaches, and then two or thee weeks before the race I'll probably follow the towpath to Bradford-on-Avon to prove to myself I have enough juice in the old tank to manage the full distance!

All of our charity spaces have been filled for this year, however if you wanted to cheer Charles and our 34 other runners on the day, please join us at Victoria Park!

Charles is running to raise money to ensure that people who are facing homelessness or hardship are supported. If you are interested in sponsoring him, you can find Charles fundraising page here: Julian House: Charles's page