Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page, which is all about 6 intrepid runners who want to do something good for charity… again!  Back in 2008 Jodie, Guy, Barry and Stephen ran the Everest Marathon in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.  They were part of a small fundraising team and with a year of hard work managed to raise over £100,000.  That was in aid of gathering much needed cash for the Gene Therapy work the CFT were, and still are, funding.  There's been real progress for CF since 2008, advances that may make CF nothing more than a mutation that can be tweaked back into shape, but they need another major push for the research to stay on track and the time is ripe for another year of fund raising!  This boils down to we’ve had our break we need to get running again!

 

Jodie is not as fit as she was… I’ll move to the first person now so the insults don’t appear as callous!  I am not as fit as I used to be!  I’ve had a few changes to my CF care, my stomach is in knots (literally), I’m minus a gall-bladder (might make me more stream-lined for running!!!), my intestines are continually being washed with an assortment of mineral ions, my joints are painful walking, my port is gone and the venous system around my heart bears more resemblance with the spaghetti junction!  However, my lungs are still (touch Jesus head) in pristine condition, my diabetes care is ‘exemplary’ (apparently) and theoretically I can still run a marathon, so long as the rest of my body holds up.  Always wanting to take it a step too far, because a marathon at sea level isn’t going to cut it after a one at high-altitude, the idea is to make it a series of challenges and rope in some high-calibre CF veterans!  So the idea for the challenge is ‘Friends of Alex.’  Alex has been a keen supporter and fundraiser for CF and he has it in his head to do an Ironman Challenge!  Now steady on, I am not doing an Ironman, but I will go along with training for each of the 3 events, swimming, running and cycling (not in the specific Ironman order) to help Alex train.  On the way we will pick up on events through a team web page and update with who's who, who’s in and who needs a kick or two to get moving!

 

There’s a running theme(!!) to our challenges that tie around Paris and France, least of all because I currently live in Paris!  So it makes sense that we’ve called this year “A revolutionary year for Cystic Fibrosis” and what better a way to kick this revolutionary year off with the premiere of Les Miserables movie in Durham!  From the ice-breaker we’ll then move onto the Paris Marathon before beginning the next training event… but that’s for later.  This JustGiving page will be updated throughout the year as we complete each challenge and move onto our next.  More information on the overall task will be found on a team web-page (watch this space), which will be focused on the team, our helping hand fundraisers and the whole reason we are doing this, to make a revolution in Cystic Fibrosis care!

 

We need your help to make it all worthwhile.  We want to raise as much money for CF this year as we possibly can.  Not just for all the breakthrough treatment to give our young people with CF the chance of a full life, but to give our challenge participants the grit and determination to go on, run those miles, make those laps and pedal to the cog springs!  Training for the Paris Marathon during the wettest and coldest time of year is going to be tough on the runners, and for Jodie especially, extremely difficult in the Parisian rain (trust me it rains ALL the time in Paris)!  The hard hours of running will all climax on the 7th April when we take on 26.2 miles (or 42km) of Parisian streets!

 

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate, we raise more whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.  You can even leave a personal message for us and all to see, be it mockery, a kick up the bum or good old-fashioned support and love!

 

For the rest of the year we have some great ideas, so stay tuned through this webpage foremost and we’re always willing to consider another challenge… make it in France and you’ll be onto a winner ;-)

 

Love and thanks to everyone xx