Han United's Beat 1-2-5 Challenges

Han United taking part in their Beat 1-2-5 Challenges

We are Han United, and we chose to take part in the Beat 1-2-5 Challenge in memory of our brilliant daughter, sister and friend Hannah, who passed away at the age of 29 in May this year. Hannah loved football (especially her beloved Manchester United, the inspiration for our team name), music, and terrible puns. She also had an eating disorder for several years, and was passionate about the need for better understanding and reduced stigma on the topic.

After raising almost £5000 for three charities (including Beat) immediately following her passing, we were keen to find a way to carry on making a difference to the world in Hannah’s memory.

As soon as we came across the 1-2-5 Challenge on the Beat website we knew we wanted to get involved. The challenge appealed to us because it allowed us to work as a team but for each of us to choose and take part in a challenge that was unique and meaningful to us.

I (Kirsty, Hannah’s oldest sister) decided to walk 12.5 miles over the weekend of the challenge, as did my sister Amy and her friends. Our Dad’s partner Peter swam 125 lengths over the week. My housemate Morgan decided to hula-hoop for 25 minutes 5 times.

The flexibility of the challenge meant that our team could also choose activities which related to Hannah. Dad chose to play 125 rounds of SongPop, a music game Hannah introduced him to. Hannah’s best friend Lu recorded herself singing five songs over 2 days as Hannah loved to hear her sing. Mum and Sophie, Hannah’s twin sister, decided to cover their 12.5 miles by walking 51 times around the cemetery where Hannah is buried. Our Mum’s partner Paul played a word game Hannah always beat everyone at! Being able to link our fundraising to Hannah in a tangible way really helped add another level to our motivation.

The support from Beat to take part in the challenge was excellent. The process to sign up was clear, and the JustGiving platform was easy to use to get donations and to share updates about our progress. There were plenty of resources available to download or purchase on the Beat website, like sponsorship forms and T-shirts, and the friendly team were on hand to answer any questions we had and sent regular encouraging emails.

The main highlight of taking part in the Beat 1-2-5 Challenge was seeing everything we had planned coming together during the challenge week, with all of us updating each other and cheering each other on! It was great to see the sponsorship coming in (we have raised over £1100 at last count!) and know we were all working hard to make a difference and to remember Hannah.

It was amazing to see what we achieved! As a team, throughout the week we collectively:

• Walked 81 miles
• Swam 1.9 miles
• Hula-hooped for 125 minutes
• Recorded 5 songs
• Played games for over 150 minutes!

In terms of highlights, an honourable mention has to go to Morgan doing his last 25 minutes of hula-hooping in a shark onesie after raising £125 from supporters who wanted to see it! Hannah loved anything silly so it was the perfect way to raise more money in tribute to her.

The advice we would give to anyone thinking of taking part in fundraising for Beat is definitely to give it a go! There’s no pressure, you can do it with others if you want, and a challenge like Beat 1-2-5 lets you choose an activity which suits you whilst giving you lots of suggestions.

If we had to sum up our experience of the Beat 1-2-5 Challenge in three words they would be meaningful, inspiring and fun.

We are Han United, and we can’t wait to fundraise for Beat again in the future! 🧡

If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, or are concerned for yourself or a loved one, you can find support and guidance on the help pages of our website.