Brathay Trust

Sonja Foster didn’t quite know what she was letting herself in for when she ran her first marathon in 2004. But she is a real veteran now.

Sonja told Barrow Rotary Club members how she tackled the Brathay 10-in-10 – ten marathons round Windermere in ten days in May.

“I was very nervous before I started,” she said. “To many people one marathon is enough but I was looking at a marathon day after day for ten days. Initially I worried about whether I could do the £3,000 fund raising that I needed before the start – and then I worried about whether I had done enough training.”

The Barrow Park Leisure Centre worker, who had started the Parkside Panthers and then played a big hand in the setting up of the Barrow Park Run, which attracts hundreds, took it all in her stride after her regular daily breakfast of “three boiled eggs, two slices of toast and a banana washed down by a pint mug of green tea.”

In the end Sonja was able to raise £5,250 towards the total of £120,000 that was collected and she is delighted she has had accepted her application for next year’s event to help raise funds for the running of the Brathay Trust which helps young disadvantaged people.

Brathay Trust business manager Judith Wren told how in 1946 hall owner Francis Scott founded the Ambleside centre and while it offered a broad range of activities, he saw the need for it to be used to provide courses for the disadvantaged young.

She explained that over 600,000 young people need support because they are physically or emotionally vulnerable. Some of the young they work with at their Ambleside base may be experiencing difficulties in their lives. By engaging with them, they inspire them and help develop personal and social skills and raise aspirations.

In 1983 Brathay took over the management of Wigan Council properties at Low Bank Ground, on the shores of Coniston, and Hinning House, in the Duddon Valley, to provide high quality, outdoor, learning experiences for the young from mainly the Wigan area but also available to clients of Brathay.

“We recognise that children and young people face many challenges in their day-to-day lives,” said Ms Wren, “and we work with some of the most vulnerable, disengaged and hard-to-reach, helping them develop the confidence, motivation, and skills they need to unlock their potential and make positive changes in their lives.”