TWO Musgrove Park Hospital workers from Taunton are set to take on a 58km endurance challenge on the Jurassic Coast in May to raise money for Mind.
Zara Baker completed the Jurassic Coast Challenge on her own last year, and she will attempt it again this year with her friend and colleague Laura Stacey to fundraise for the mental health charity.
The pair will complete the the Jurassic Coast Challenge's new 58km endurance route with 1,650 metres of elevation.
The challenge starts in Corfe Castle and goes through Swanage and Lulworth Cove, past Durdle Door, and finishes with a celebration at the finish line in Weymouth.
Participants range from seasoned ultra-runners to walkers taking part in their first-ever challenge of this type.
They will take in the challenge on Saturday, May 14.
Zara and Laura both work at Musgrove Park Hospital, in emergency out-of-hours clinics, and in general practice.
They have chosen to fundraise for Mind because they both "have personal journeys when it comes to mental health" and because they have seen first-hand how big an impact mental health has on people's lives - especially during the pandemic.
Speaking about the challenge, Zara said: "Spending not only time outdoors but pushing ourselves to train for this has had fantastic mental and physical health benefits which has impacted on us both.
"Training has been a challenge to get the time to prepare ourselves, and a large proportion of our success in May is going to be sheer determination and support we receive.
"We both work more than full-time jobs covering daytimes, evenings, and weekends between us both to extend to primary emergency cover for patients as well as routine appointments."
In her JustGiving page, Zara said she was "overwhelmed" with the support she received and the amount of money she raised last year for a charity "that meant so much to me".
After finishing the event with her "hips and knees in spasm", she swore she would not attempt the challenge again - but she is now preparing to complete it again.
For more information or to donate to 'Zala's' JustGiving page, visit www.justgiving.com/team/Zala.
Read more: Sir Mo Farah congratulates fundraiser for running 28 half-marathons in a month
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