So here we are. Thank you for visiting. I know why I'm here, and if you haven't come direct from my webpage, I guess I should really explain. A couple of years ago a friend and I were discussing how you would train to run marathons with only a week between them, such as Brighton and London. After much discussion about tapering, pacing strategies and sports therapy, we concluded that it was probably best just to keep going. After all, they do that on events such as the Marathon des Sables, funny man Eddie Izzard did it (and more, although not in his trademark heels), and by far my favourite example is Forest Gump. So what started as an idle chat and an idea recently turned in to a practical situation when I secured entry in to both the above mentioned events, Brighton on 6th April 2014 and London a week later on the 13th.

Many people have done this, some of whom run among us in Leigh, and I admire the ability to do this. However, I wanted to take my idea and grow it in to something a little different. Fuelled by the thought of running every day between the two I decided that maybe it was possible for a mere mortal to run a marathon every day for 8 days straight. During planning and throwing around possible names for the challenge, it soon became apparent that the only way that it worked was to call it the

10 in 8 Challenge

so, I guess as it's called that, I should really run it too. Have I lost you yet? No, excellent. So let's recap. That's 10 marathons in 8 days. 262 miles. Or the equivalent of running from Southend to Paris via Calais. Of course I’m not running to Paris, that would be silly, but I will be running back from Brighton to Southend to then run the majority of the miles around Southend Borough before heading back to London in true Forest Gump style for the final event.

So why am I doing it, and who for. Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't doing it in a little way for myself, however, my main aim is to raise money for Southend Hospital's Keyhole Cancer Campaign. Launched at the beginning of 2014, the Keyhole campaign aims to raise £600k for a new state-of-the-art laparoscopic (keyhole surgery) theatre suite at the hospital. This will be one of the first of it's kind and benefit around eight hundred Southend patients each year. They include people suffering with bowel and prostate cancer or gynecological conditions. Many of these patients would have previously had to have ‘open’ surgery’ which would have meant longer hospital stays and recovery times and greater post-operative pain and scarring. I think this is a fantastic cause, and with my relationship with the Hospital Charity over the last few years it seemed an obvious choice.

I have a fantastic team supporting me through the training and the week of the event, so a massive thank you to them, as they will no doubt be dealing with a very miserable me at times.

So, what can you do? Well, you’ve made the most important step by visiting this page and hopefully pressing that big DONATE button before you leave. However much or little you can afford to donate will be greatly appreciated. Although, if you want some inspiration or ideas about how you could be more involved, then please visit my website at www.10in8challenge.co.uk and join me on one of my runs.

Do you need to be super-human to achieve this feat, I suggest not, however it does help to be doing it for a good cause, so please, join me in supporting the Keyhole Cancer Campaign.

 

Thank You, and Run Happy!

Dean

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.