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Thanks for the wheelie big effort...

Posted by on 22 August 2011

Lauren Taylor is an editor and illustrator, writes for Mad Art Lab on the Skepchick network and is part of the British Humanist Association's choir. Here she describes her fundraising efforts for our new 'ask for evidence' campaign.

 "On Sunday 14 August I joined 1300 skaters for Goodwood motor racing circuit's annual roller-skating marathon: 4 hours, 11 laps, 26 miles around the circuit but the real journey began a year ago.

I trained everywhere from sunlit mornings along the Serpentine river to damp, grey evenings around a deserted Tesco's carpark. I've clocked up over 200 miles of skating, numerous bruises of spectacular colours and sizes, and thigh muscles to rival Britain's Strongest Man. Before this, I hadn't sported a pair of skates since I was 7 years old and my favourite form of exercise was walking to buy lunch.

Fast forward and - accumulating an adoration for roller skating along the way - the actual event was spectacular. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and I had a small but tenaciously lively crowd screaming for me on the sidelines. On each lap you could make a new friend, with grown men dressed as fairies, skaters with sound systems strapped to their backs, roller-derby girls with gruesome stories to regale and speed skaters whizzing past at over 20 miles an hour. I would never want to deter anyone from doing it, but the fact is marathons are ridiculously hard work - but why would anyone have sponsored me otherwise? The adrenaline of the event saw me through the first 17 miles. The stamina I had trained to conjure up when the going was tough got me to 22 miles. I have no idea how I completed the last 4 miles, but I did, and for the last 1/2 mile I had the biggest smile on my face.

It must have been the year of training - what a waste of all those weekends! It must have been my friends and family there to motivate me - imagine if I had dragged them on this 2 hour trek to Sussex only to fail! It also must have been my investment in Sense About Science and the heart-warming support that they provided through this crazy mission - imagine contacting them to say that, sorry, I didn't manage to do it after all. I've done a few things for charity in my life, but it has never felt so appreciated. The Sense About Science team really were with me for every roll of the way.

I am not from a science background. Critical thinking does not come naturally to me. Like many people, I have been a victim of bad science, specifically the kind that serves only to escalate anxiety and panic around health, social and environmental issues. An understanding of the value of scientific evidence is the key to combating this needless form of anxiety and ignorance, and equipping the public with the tools to resist the effects of bad science is the first step. Without belief and without credibility, the advocates for bad science have no power at all. These skills are easily learned and will serve us for a lifetime. I would happily roller skate any distance to see these goals achieved. After all, blisters and sore legs are a small price to pay for knowledge."