Smarter Media Chairman raises more than £1,500 for Charity

Karl Paul, the executive chairman of Swindon-based digital growth agency Smarter Media, has raised more than £1,500 for charity and inspired his team members to get active for a good cause.

Karl joined the Race to the Stones event running, jogging or walking 100km (62 miles) across The Ridgeway to the iconic Avebury Stone Circle raising money for a small local charity Doing it for Dan.

Doing it for Dan was set up in memory of 11 year old Daniel Climance, who was killed in 2015 in a road traffic collision whilst riding his bike in Purton. Dan was the younger brother of one of the team members at Smarter Media, Robbie. 

The charity now helps young people to achieve their sporting dreams by awarding grants to individuals, teams and organisations in Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. Dan was mad about sports so the charity is his legacy, enabling others to participate regardless of income. 

Karl completed the distance alongside his friend, Lance Tucker, with a moving time of 18 hours and 20 minutes. 

This motivated Smarter Media’s MD Emma Carter and Karl’s wife Charlotte, who is a business support administrator, to complete their own challenge for charity. They are currently taking part in the 1 million steps for Diabetes UK charity fundraiser. 

Karl said: “Each year I aim to push myself to support others and get involved in even more challenging charity events. I was thrilled when Emma and Charlotte agreed to step up themselves and to raise their fitness levels at the same time.” 

Charlotte, who has been with the company for just over two years, said: “Karl found the 1 million steps for Diabetes UK challenge online and thought that it looked like something Emma and I could do.” 

The challenge started on 1st July and runs until 30th September and participants can set their own targets based on steps per day. 

Charlotte, who already enjoys exercising by going for a run or to the gym, can normally manage around 10,000 steps every day, so decided to set her target at a massive 1.7 million steps to push herself. 

“I now have to do around 19,000 steps each day to hit my 1.7 million target. It’s certainly not easy and some days seem a lot harder than others, especially with three daughters to look after,” she said. 

Emma is especially pleased to be supporting Diabetes UK as her mother, sisters and aunts all suffer from either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and she has seen the devastating effect the condition can have. 

She set herself a goal of 1 million steps which means she must do at least 10,000 steps each day. She said:

“Before this, I probably would have only done as little as 2,400 steps a day. It was going really well at first and I was ahead of the curve, but the weather and meetings have seen my average really drop down, so I need to pull my socks up! This is a challenge that will push me physically and mentally and for me, a goal really does help.”

To support Emma Carter and Charlotte Paul visit – https://step.diabetes.org.uk/teams/smarter-media

*Image shows Emma Carter (left) and Charlotte Paul congratulating Karl Paul at the end of the 2021 Race To The Stones event, which has inspired Emma & Charlotte to get active and raise funds for Diabetes UK. 

For information on the 1 million steps for Diabetes UK charity fundraiser, visit: https://step.diabetes.org.uk/