The eye research charity Fight for Sight has launched an awareness-raising app that gives information on eye health while they run in a “virtual 10-kilometre race”.
Fight for Sight’s Journey to the Centre of the Eye initiative will start on 24 September, during National Eye Health Week.
The free app can be downloaded to mobile phones. Participants listen to an audio story while completing the 10k run at a time and location of their choice until World Sight Day on 10 October.
The app will ask people to imagine they have been shrunk to the size of a photon and will use geo-positioning to give updates to runners at different stages of the course.
It will provide tips on eye health and sight loss-prevention along the way, and will encourage those taking part to fundraise during their virtual races.
Michele Acton, chief executive of Fight for Sight, said: “We’re encouraging everyone to join a massive adventure at a small scale. I think this is a fantastic interactive way to learn more about the eye while you get fit, and what better time to take part than in National Eye Health Week.”
Those who have directly benefited from the charity will also be taking part.
A spokesman for Fight for Sight said the charity hoped the app’s younger audience would “build a pipeline of support for the future” while raising funds for vital research into the prevention of sight loss.
