21 Challenges – Maria’s journey from ParliaMentors to Tough Mudder!

In this 21 Challenges instalment, Maria Pettersson is the latest participant to take on Tough Mudder! She discusses her love for obstacle races, her experience with 3FF as an intern and the importance of interfaith dialogue in promoting peace in our society.

Maria interned with 3FF in 2016 as part of the ParliaMentors team. Throughout her internship, she had the opportunity to witness first-hand the kind of work that the organisation does and the significant impact it has in building bridges between people from diverse backgrounds, particularly in schools and universities.

The close support she received from her team and the rest of the staff contributed to an amazing experience where she was also able to build her skills. She stated, “it was this combination of emotional attachment and great appreciation for their work that makes me motivated to take up this challenge.”

Her experience of working at 3FF enabled her to understand more about the work that the organisation does in providing safe spaces for individuals from different backgrounds to come together and learn about other people’s faiths and backgrounds.

The fact that 3FF provides a place for raising questions is “very important and something which promotes the ever so important tolerance and understanding of people’s differences and similarities in our society – both in London and in the rest of the UK as well as internationally.” By organising workshops and training sessions, 3FF aims to equip people with the necessary skills to be able to ask questions in a sensitive way. Maria believes that this is an important precursor to indirectly promote peace in our society.

Maria is also no stranger to obstacle races having successfully completed a Spartan Beast race in September 2017. She loves the challenge of taking part in these races and is relishing the opportunity to push herself to the limit in Tough Mudder. The endurance element of the race was a prevailing factor in her deciding to opt for this challenge. She is hoping that Tough Mudder lives up to its name and that there are some tricky obstacle races for her to take on throughout the event.

In true competitive spirit, she has also set herself an aim of finishing among the top 20 or 30 women in the race! Her success in her previous race is fueling this objective and we at 3FF have no doubt that Maria has as good a chance as any of getting this result. Good Luck Maria!

Please support Maria by donating to her fundraising page.