Running 251km for 251 hostages

She said the tragedy of the day brought her connection to the country “into focus”, making it more clearly defined. “My relationship with Israel feels rawer now. Weirdly, it’s the only place I wanted to be as a Jew after October 7. I felt really lost being in the UK and watching it all from afar,” she said.

Natasha said she was “numb” for a very long time after October 7, unable to process the extent of the tragedy, but running has helped her “feel stronger and more positive, clears my head and makes me feel a little less overwhelmed”.

She decided to contribute to Israel via a run laden with symbolism and got to work planning out her route.

Formerly a teacher of history and classics at a secondary school, Natasha incorporated her love of history into her journey and plotted a course that passed a number of sites significant to British Jewry and its history.

Her route included grabbing a bagel from Beigel Bake on Brick Lane, running past Willesden Jewish Cemetery, the JW3, and the Holocaust memorial in Hyde Park.

Eventually, she realised that the combination of focusing on running and following the route she had painstakingly plotted was proving too complicated, so she replaced the latter half of her route with laps round a park. These, she said, were symbolic too because “for the families of hostages, their lives have stood still, stuck in a loop, unable to move on”.

All funds raised, which have now surpassed £11,000 from over 150 donors, is being split between the the Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, Bring Them Home Now, and SafeHeart, a grassroots charity dedicated to providing mental health support to survivors of the Nova music festival.

Natasha Roston[Missing Credit]

Natasha, who returned home at the end of every day, was joined at different times during the week by family and friends, who provided her with encouragement, support, coffee and bagels.

She admits encountering “moments of massive doubt” at different points, particularly on the evening of the second day. After running about 45km, she found herself at the end of the day lying on her bed. “My whole body was just aching and in so much pain. It was really uncomfortable. I just kept thinking that it was only day two and I had another five days of this. I wanted to cry,” she said.

But on she went and the third day proved easier going. “I woke up and my body felt incredible. The body really is amazing and resilient,” she said. “And I’m new to this, so if I can do it, anybody can. So long as you have a cause you’re committed to, even if you need to crawl over that finishing line.”

You can donate here.