This news story is designed to shine a light on the incredible charity work being undertaken by long-term employee of the company, James Fox.
On 28th July 2024 in Pittencrieff Park Dunfermline Glen, James will be taking part in the ‘Forever in our Hearts Sophia-Rose Charity’ 1km coal relay. The Coal relay event, which is a tradition in historic mining towns, involves teams of both men and women carrying heavy bags of coal for 1km. Ladies will carry a 25kg bag of coal and the men will lug a 50kg coal bag! James is the sole organiser of the ‘Sophia-Rose Charity fundraising event’ which has now been running for 2 years. Last year James’ time to carry the 50kg of coal for 1km was an amazing 5 minutes and 45 seconds!
The event aims to raise awareness and funds to support families who have experienced Child Loss. Both Angi and Martin, parents of Sophia-Rose, are taking part in the event. Martin is taking part for the second year running, with Angi taking part in her first ever coal relay. The 2023 event raised an incredible £10,000, and they hope the 2024 event may surpass this.
James said “On the Sophia-Rose event day, taking part will feel emotional, but at same time gives me a great sense of fulfilment”
This is only a small part of the fundraising which James is involved with! In 2019, James ran the 1.6 miles across the Forth Road Bridge carrying a 50kg coal bag for Cancer Research. He followed this up in September 2020, when he ran across the bridge again for charity, but this time going both ways – 3.2 miles!
In April 2023, James ran the London Landmark Half Marathon raising money for Tommy’s Baby Charity. He completed Edinburgh Half Marathon in May 2023, to raise proceeds for Macmillan Charity. More recently, James ran the Edinburgh 10K in May 2024, running alongside a friend who was running their first long distance race.
James is a big believer in the benefits of running and general exercise for your mental health and believes being outdoors in fresh air is key to maintaining a healthy mind. In addition to this, he feels helping others and being part of a team brings a huge sense of fulfilment.
In his spare time, James runs a Fitness Boot Camp class every Sunday at 10am at Pittencrieff Park Dunfermline Glen which is open for anyone to attend free of charge.
In addition to his charity work, James is now looking forward to taking part in the Scottish Coal Carrying Championships in August 2024 at Kelty, Fife, which is a fun day out for all the family.
Well done, James!
