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Two weeks. Two new venues. Two amazing SuperSensory1Ks

This September the SuperSensory1K (SS1K) came to two new venues in Cambridge – Shelford and Fulbourn.

Charity Chief Executive Officer, Alex Laybourne, reflects on the events:

On Sunday 10th September, running alongside the Shelford Fun Run, the SS1K brought a fully inclusive 1km walk, run or wheel to the amazing village event.

With five sense stations along the way there was something for everyone, as over 60 participants braved the heat and navigated the course, which took in the wonderful surroundings of Shelford Recreational Ground.

The sense station included ‘hearing’, wich was run by AngliEar who’s offices back on to The Rec, as well as ‘smell’, ‘taste’, ‘touch’ and ‘sight’. All stations were run by an amazing group of local volunteers and managed by the amazing Maria Dias. All in all, it made for an amazing event full of smiles, joy and laughter, all in glorious sunshine. True inclusion and fun was showcased throughout the day – our mission in action!

Our thanks must go to Dr. Maria Dias for pulling everything together on the ground, including her amazing team of volunteers. Another huge thanks goes to Holly Barr and Vaila Morrison for having the vision and ambition to bring the SS1K to Shelford Fun Run – we hope to return next year!

On Saturday 23rd September we made our debut at our second venue – Fulbourn Hospital. This time 30 participants took advantage of the great weather and fantastic grounds at Fulbourn, finishing at the Edge Café for ‘station five’ – the ‘taste’ station! The other sense stations were run by Head To Toe Charity (‘touch’), How Are You (‘sight’), Cambridge Chidren’s Hospital (‘smell’) and an amazing group of volunteers (‘sound’).

Anna Todd and Sarah Allen, Cambridge Children’s Hospital, said:

“It was brilliant to be a part of the SuperSensory1k with Power2Inspire and Head2Toe charities. Having sensory stations to break up the course is a really clever idea, as it gives children and families a chance to pause, chat and engage with different activities.

“We ran the smell station for Cambridge Children’s Hospital project, and it was wonderful to see the joy – and disgust – on children’s faces as they sniffed all the different jam jars! Chocolate came out on top!”

A huge thanks must go to Anna Tuke for pulling it all together, alongside Hannah and her team at Head To Toe for funding and supporting the event. This is another one we hope to run again, with a huge sense of joy at the end having watched so many people enjoy the event.

Anna Tuke had this to say after her first SS1K experience:

“The Inclusive Sensory 1K provided the prefect opportunity for the five teams involved to consider what inclusiveness really means in practise. On the day it was great to see so many people and families taking part, having the opportunity to enjoy doing something together. It was also an ideal opportunity to bring together five of the teams working within CPFT all of whom are focused on improving health care and people’s wellbeing. None of this would have been possible without the support and guidance of the inspirational Power2Inspire team. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Founder and Chief Ambassador, John Willis, said:

“It is so exciting to see our SuperSensory Inclusive Kilometres gaining traction, as new venues embrace the concept. From humble beginnings in Histon we have now added three new venues, most recently Shelford and Fulbourn. As participants experience the joy, stallholders gain confidence in what they can showcase, and organisers see how an SS1K benefits their event, I am sure there will be greater and greater clamour to host these fun events around the country.”

Inspired? Then Get Involved!

If you would like to support us in our mission to “embed inclusive sport in the sporting, education and community landscapes” then we would love to hear from you. Would you like to host a SuperSensory1K at your local Fun Run or Park Run? Or would you like to volunteer at our next event? Or could you give to the ongoing work of Power2Inspire. Click the button here to find out more.