Welcome to Head over Heels 2014. One evening, many months ago, we, Emma and Aysha had the crazy idea for Emma to run a few thousand miles across Africa and to raise money for charity along the way. We plan to set off in August 2014.  We are currently a team of three, each with different roles and duties.

Emma: In 2011 Emma was the first female to run from Durban to Cape Town along a route called the Freedom Trail, which is a route used for a mountain bike race. She was the second person to ever run it, the first being the guy that founded the bike race while trying to plan the route!  The run took 57 days’ running, which equated to a marathon a day on average, with no support other than her brother beside her on a mountain bike. Emma has been running since she was 12 but considers herself more of a lover of the outdoors than a runner.

Emma’s goal: to run from the east coast of Africa to the west coast, about a marathon a day for several months.

Aysha:  Aysha was a trustee for the SEED Project for many years and has visited the project in Zimbabwe. She is also the founder of and currently a trustee for TPD which is based in Manchester. Aysha first raised money for Amnesty International and Oxfam as a teenager and went on to work as a volunteer and paid member of staff for youth organisations in the UK and charities in overseas development. Aysha met Emma at Manchester Climbing Centre’s Women’s club. She is a regular climber but her first love is rugby. She’s hoping that out in Africa there will be time, around Emma’s run, for a few games of touch rugby and working in schools.

Aysha’s goal: to survive, enjoy it, raise lots of money for charity and keep Emma alive and happy.

Mike:  Having been Emma’s climbing partner since last summer, we feel that Mike has lots to offer the team. He is trustworthy and reliable, strong and determined, and is able to adapt and be flexible as environments and demands on him change.  Mikes main role in Africa will be riding beside Emma to try and protect her from hungry lions and snakes!  Mike will also be trying his hand at sports massage and documenting/filming the trip.  We are both very happy to have Mike on board.

Mike’s goal: to keep as much of the team alive as possible.