A woman from Bristol who walked more than 5,000 miles along the coast of Great Britain over a year has won a prestigious award after raising more than £23,000. Claire Allen, who is originally from Dorset but now lives in Bristol, was named the Endurance Fundraiser of the Year 2024 at the JustGiving Awards, sponsored by GoCardless.
Claire, who began her journey around Great Britain in August last year at John O’Groats, endured ticks, a hungry fox and storms as she spent a year travelling. She raised money for two emergency housing charities, Only A Pavement Away and Shelter, by walking more than 5,000 miles and camping throughout, and was announced as one of eight winners at a ceremony in London.
Claire was presented with the award by Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and previous award winner Gary Mckee. Gary ran 365 marathons in 365 consecutive days.
Claire said: “When I set out from John O’Groats last summer, I thought I’d be home again after a week. I didn’t believe for a moment that I could spend a year walking all the way round Great Britain – let alone win an award for it! But with support and encouragement at every turn, I did it.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me get to the finish line and I’m so pleased to have reached my fundraising goal too. If the money we’ve raised can change just one person’s life, every rainy day, muddy hill and midge bite will have been worth it!”
The finalists were shortlisted by a panel of nine judges including professional Strictly dancer Amy Dowden, broadcaster Adele Roberts, TV personality Jake Quickenden, Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds, TV presenter Sunetra Sarker and radio presenter Rickie Haywood-Williams. They were also joined by JustGiving president, Pascale Harvie, and managing director at headline sponsor GoCardless, Pat Phelan. Then 50,000 public voters decided the winners.
As well as the celebrity judges, the star-studded event was hosted by British broadcaster Rylan Clark and attended by celebrities including ITV’s Charlotte Hawkins, Celebrity Big Brother and Netflix’s Bradley Riches, Love Island’s Faye Winter and former Olympian Fatima Whitbread. Host Rylan said: “It was incredible to host last night’s GoCardless JustGiving awards to celebrate the amazing work the winners and finalists have done this year to raise money for causes close to their hearts. They should all be really proud of themselves!”
Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager of JustGiving said: “It was incredible to celebrate all of our amazing finalists last night, including our endurance champion Claire – what a hero. We’ve all been completely blown away by what Claire has achieved and how much money she has raised for Shelter and Only A Pavement Away, she is a true inspiration to us all.”
Pat Phelan, MD of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless said: “It was an honour to see Claire rewarded for her efforts at last night’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards. The entire team of judges were incredibly impressed by her dedication to supporting two charities close to her heart.”
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