The RISE 8K Undercliff Run for Women is a huge event for us. Every year, hundreds of women and girls get together on an October Sunday morning, and run 8 kilometres, from Saltdean to Brighton Marina and back, along the Undercliff Path.

We shout about how volunteers contribute to this, and how we are supported by partners and donations of gifts - so why do we need to charge an entry fee, too?

Well, it's because putting on a run like this incurs a lot of costs. The purpose of it is to raise funds to support the work we do. If we have to spend the funds raised on the event logistics and admin, there's a chance (a slim but real chance) that we might end up raising less than the event actually cost. As a charity, and in the years after COVID, we particularly need to be careful about this.

Planning for *next* year's race starts before *this* year's race ends. We' ll have been checking tide times so we can set a date and announce it on the day of the run. Ticket sales start the day after the run each year, and so work will have been happening in the office to get the website and booking system ready to go.

Here are just some of the costs incurred when putting on the RISE 8K Run For Women, without even mentioning the hard work of the team behind the scenes!

Event Insurance, Toilets, Chip Timing System for the official results, Medical Cover, Barriers, Health and Safety checks and documentation, On Site Catering, PA System, Marquees, Outdoor Event Furniture, Drinking Water, Entertainment...

The list goes on, and then there are the added costs of promoting the event and encouraging girls and women to enter....!

We ask that everyone who enters the run fundraises £50 each (or more if possible) so that we generate a great big chunk of money to support our work - our aim is £25,000 from this year's event; every single penny of it matters.

If you don't work in the charity sector, you may not have heard the term 'unrestricted funds' but that's what the money you raise is for us. 'Unrestricted' means that we can choose how we use it, and when - it means we can be flexible, we can respond to emergencies. A lot of our funding comes from grants and they can only be used for certain things but we know that needs change and we always want to be able to respond. Your support means we can.

If you want to run for RISE we'd love you to sign up here - see you in October?