Ali is an absolute beauty of a supporter
We interviewed Ali Gore who is completing two running events for Cobalt this year and is a bit of a philanthropist.
How long have you been supporting charity Ali?
I’ve been running my own salon, Absolute Beauty, in Cheltenham for 24 years and have supported charity in some way or another every year. My clients are very supportive and often just hand me money, as they assume I will be doing something to raise money, even if I haven’t mentioned it yet! I try and do something different every month from challenging myself to do something out of my comfort zone, collecting crafts through to items for the food bank nearer to Christmas.
Why did you choose to support Cobalt?
I lost my Uncle Ken, affectionately known by residents of Cheltenham as Dancing Ken. He even changed his name by deed poll due to his love of country music. He was a very colourful character, a lovely man and he raised thousands for charity. During his illness, Uncle Ken needed the services of Cobalt so it felt a natural fit to support you.
What fundraising activities are you doing for us?
I have already completed the Gloucester Half Marathon in August and I’ve signed up for the Cheltenham Half Marathon in October. You definitely need to be running for a good cause as it pushes you to complete it; after all it’s a long way and usually hurts! I’ve set up a fundraising page to collect online sponsors and we don’t turn away those who wish to donate in person at the salon. I promote the challenge and the cause via the salon Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AbsoluteBeautyCheltenham/, which I hope will raise awareness.
Who inspires you?
My brother is my running inspiration. He’s an elite runner and has recently completed a 52mile ultra-marathon. And came 3rd! I always give him money for the charities he supports, there’s no way I can do what he does! He’s insane!!
My parents are my charitable inspiration. They have always raised money or helped others for as long as I can remember. It must be a family trait.
How’s your training going?
I’m competitive with myself rather than others and set myself challenges to push my limits. I only started running a couple of years ago and I’m asthmatic too so it was a real challenge. I did the Moonlight Walk Marathon with a friend and then progressed to the couch to 5k and completed a couple of 5km runs during the course of the year. This progressed to 10k runs and then the Cheltenham Half last year. I ran the Cheltenham Challenge 10k earlier this year and then the Gloucester Half Marathon in August. I haven’t managed to do much since then, so I’m slowly getting up to 6 or 7 miles now. 6 miles isn’t too bad but at 10 miles it starts hurting!
If you fancy supporting Ali then please visit her fundraising page. At the time of writing this, she’s already raised a fantastic £700 https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/alisongore1