20-year-old Olly Drye from Epsom in Surrey will be taking on the Bacchus Wine 10k this September after being inspired by his mum’s day job.
The law student is taking part in the 10k run, which will be taking place in the beautiful Surrey countryside at Denbies Vineyard and the North Downs on 8 September, to raise money for Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People (QEF), the Surrey based charity that supports disabled people of all ages to maximise their independence and achieve their potential.
Olly’s mum Hazel is a volunteer co-ordinator for the charity. He said: “My mum has worked for QEF for the past eleven years, so growing up I often casually volunteered for the charity’s shop in Stoneleigh as well as local events raising awareness for the charity. I also attended a summer party at one of the QEF services which gave me a much greater insight into how important its work is. More recently I have also volunteered for QEF at the Championships in Wimbledon for the past three years, which I really enjoyed and found very rewarding. Therefore, when I found out about the Bacchus challenge, I was interested in taking part, and saw it as an opportunity to raise money for a good cause in a fun and sociable way.
“I have been training hard at the gym and started some off-road running to try and get used to the hilly terrain, similar to Denbies. I am really looking forward to the day and just hope the weather is good as it could make or break the challenge for me.”
Participants like Olly will get to sample wines along the course at five different drinks station. 10k runners will sample two incredible wines and half-marathon runners will experience a full selection of the Denbies wine range with six award-winning English wines.
QEF supports almost 10,000 disabled children and adults each year. All funds raised from the event will support the charity’s ongoing work enabling disabled children and adults to achieve their potential and live as independently as possible – whether that’s at its Care and Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey to regain core skills after an acquired brain injury, stroke or neurological illness or greater independent mobility through driving a specially adapted car or supporting people to travel by air.
Jolene Ryan: Senior Events, Community & Partnerships Executive at QEF said: “We are so lucky to have a fantastic team of runners taking part for us this year and would like to wish Olly the very best of luck in his training and the big day itself and hope he gets to enjoy a glass or two enroute. The funds raised will help us continue to support almost 10,000 disabled children and adults every year.”
If you are keen to take on the Bacchus Wine Half Marathon or 10k for QEF please visit https://www.qef.org.uk/events/bacchus/ for more information.
