These students are running around Jesmond dressed as carrots

I’m sure we have all heard of sweating onions, but have you ever heard of the sweating carrots?

Third-year geography students Kate Abery, Elena Haines and Tash Finchett have been running their orange socks off around Jesmond in a bid to raise money for the West End Food Bank, all while dressed as carrots – because we all know how important it is to get your five a day.

Aptly naming themselves “Carrots on the Run”, the girls have been running 5km every day since October 25th and will keep pushing on until Christmas Day. By the end of their efforts, the will have run over 300km in aid of charity.

The students told The Newcastle Tab that they are motivated by the knowledge that every donation they receive is making a difference to someone’s life. Additionally, they enjoy getting to explore new parts of Newcastle that they wouldn’t normally visit. The students said: “When our legs are aching and the ice packs are quite cutting it, we know that we are raising awareness for this crucial issue, which isn’t really spoken about within the community. When the motivation starts to fade, it’s always the support and smiles from people that keep us running.”

The West End Food Bank is one of the busiest food banks in the UK, feeding over 30,000 people annually, as well as providing additional support and guidance. The west end of Newcastle is one the most socially and economically deprived areas in the North East, and the food bank helps those who are struggling with household debt, worklessness, risk of homelessness, addiction, and various other causes which necessitate support. It intends to help people break their dependency on the food bank, re-engage people with employment support, and encourages social integration with the community. 

As a result of the pandemic, the food bank is expecting its busiest Christmas ever, with a notable increase in those relying on the food bank since the first lockdown. 

The efforts of the Carrots on the Run are commendably helping a very worthy cause that will no doubt help many people who are struggling over the winter period.

We take our carrot tops off to you!

You can donate to help Carrots on the Run reach their target here, and keep updated with their adventures via their Instagram.

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