Journey to the Centre of the Eye #MyEyeJourney
Image courtesy of Fight For Sight
As a regular parkrunner @BruetonParkrun, and as a Dispensing Optician with a passion for not only encouraging people to express their personalities through individual and unique ‘eyewear’ – it goes without saying ‘eyecare’ is also a ‘top priority’ as part of my professional remit.
And so, when I was reading about a ‘virtual running’ race, that aims to take runners on a journey to the centre of the eye, it obviously caught my eye, excuse the pun!
The eye research and treatment charity ‘Fight for Sight’ talked about inviting people to be part of what it calls ‘a massive adventure on a small scale’. This sounded right up my street and so #MyEyeJourney began at this moment.
STEP 1 #MyEyeJourney : I signed up to the 10K fundraising sporting event from Fight for Sight which will start during National Eye Health Week – commencing 24 September 2018 and ending on World Sight Day on 11th October 2018.
Image courtesy of http://www.visionmatters.org
National Eye Care Week 24th – 30th September 2018
National Eye Health Week (NEHW) is the most important week in the eyecare calender, the aim is to raise awareness of the importance of looking after your eyes. In 2018, it will take place from 24 to 30 September 2018, promoting the need for regular sight tests for all. Register your support and activities on the www.visionmatters.org website.
They quote “Vision really matters. Sight is the sense people fear losing the most, yet many of us don’t know how to look after our eyes – National Eye Health Week aims to change all that!”
STEP 2 #MyEyeJourney: Ordered the T-Shirt
STEP 3 #MyEyeJourney: I downloaded the ‘racelink’ app and signed in. During #MyEyeJourney – I will ‘shrink to the size of a photon’ before being taken deep into the eye. The interactive app will use geo-positioning to give updates to runners at different stages of the course, and an audio story will reveal fun and fantastic facts about the wonders of your eyes and health tips along the way. #can’t wait
Michele Acton, Chief Executive of Fight for Sight, is promoting #journeytothecentreoftheye:
“We’re encouraging everyone to join a massive adventure at a small scale! I think this is a fantastic interactive way to learn more about the eye while you get fit, and what better time to take part than in National Eye Health Week. Anyone can get involved and you can walk, jog or run at your own pace from any location.”
STEP 3 #MyEyeJourney Understanding what a ‘virtual race’ is?
According to the app, virtual races are like traditional races, but they can take place in a location and time of your choice. So, People can take part in the 10k audio race anytime, anywhere, walk, jog or run (even on a treadmill) from 24 September to 11 October.
Even better, the downloadable running app is free and integrates captivating audio stories and music as the person runs.
#MyEye Journey Step-by-Step
Step 1 : Read the website https://www.fightforsight.org.uk/get-involved/events/journey-to-the-centre-of-the-eye/ and signed up in the middle of August.
Step 2: Ordered the T-shirt and received it!
Step 3: Download the App – racelink – done 1/9/18
Step 4: Enquired about being a Visually Impaired Guide (VI guide) @BruetonParkrun on 29/9/18. Send an email to confirm.
Step 5: Please sponsor my 10K Journey into the centre of the eye. Support is vital to help Fight for Sight with the next big research breakthrough. Please donate on my Justgiving page and thank you so much for your support.
Step 6: Start training… my results will be uploaded to a live, worldwide leaderboard, so I can compare myself to others.
Step 7: Share on social media….
Join in: To register for the event yourself, visit Fight for Sight’s website You can download the app now and take part wherever you like during this race period!
SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST SIGHT LOSS
Sight is the sense that people fear losing the most. Every day 250 people start to lose their sight in the UK. Please help Fight for Sight to end blindness and sight loss by making a donation.
Fight for Sight is dedicated to funding pioneering research to prevent sight loss and treat eye disease. The charity’s overall research commitments amount to £8m for more than 160 research projects at 49 different UK universities and hospitals. Currently Fight for Sight are only able to fund one in eight of the eye research projects they receive. Gene therapy and stem cells promise so much for the future, but if there’s not enough funding we’re never going to get an answer.
Please sponsor me on my 10K Journey into the centre of the eye. Your support could help fight for Sight with the next big research breakthrough. Donate here. Thanks again.
My optical dispensing digest 