Georgie McCarthy
Georgie's 2010 London Marathon Page
Fundraising for Sue Ryder
Story
Feel free to skip the following “blurb” and just donate some dosh. But if you want to understand why I am running (in a very loose term) the London Marathon next year then here’s an extract from my application form to Sue Ryder Care.
“Today is Sunday 21 June 2009 and it’s Father’s Day. This is the first Father’s Day I haven’t sent a card in 41 years because my Dad, Brian Simmonds, died 7 weeks ago in Leckhampton Court Hospice. This is my alternative card to Dad – an application to be part of the Sue Ryder Care Team 2010”
Dad’s health became increasingly poor over a period of approximately 6 months. He was ultimately diagnosed with pancreatic, prostate and liver cancers, the former being terminal. Unfortunately before he was able to take up an offer of visiting as a day-patient he suffered a stroke and spent 8 days in ’s new stroke unit. We were helped by a fantastic hospital palliative care team to get Dad into the hospice where he peacefully (but rather noisily) passed away after 3 days – don’t worry I know Dad really wouldn’t mind me making light of it.
Everyone at made Dad’s final hours as dignified and pain-free as possible. As a family (Mum, brother and sister) we were made so welcome and involved as much as we wanted. I know you have probably heard this sentiment before, but his and our care was second to none and we cannot thank the staff enough for helping us start our grieving process so positively. We wanted some good to come of Dad’s death and offered organ donation some time before he died, however due to his many illnesses this was not possible, literally every organ had been affected.
So why my application for the London Marathon? Two days after Dad’s Funeral I ran the Children’s BUPA Great Run with my son of 3 years – only 1 mile (but it’s a start). The next day my husband ran the 10k run and afterwards I vowed that the following year the roles would be reversed. Then I recalled that I had always had a lifetime ambition of running the London Marathon – not any marathon but the one. I immediately went to the marathon website to be disappointed to learn that the ballot had already closed. I was much relieved to see though that I could run for charity instead and Sue Ryder Care was the obvious choice
I am under no illusions that preparing for and running a marathon will be one of the most grueling exercises I have ever undertaken. But I am a stubborn old fighter and I am determined to kill two birds with one stone and fulfill a dream and raise money for a charity that is now so close to my heart. I know what physical hard work is like having already achieved my other dream of riding a motorbike, with my now husband, across central Asia to Japan and back, taking 18 months to do so (plug www.sorebums.net). There were many occasions when we could have given up due to mental and physical strain of the journey, but it was just not in our nature. Running the marathon will also help all my family through the grieving process as they support my fundraising activities.”
So there you have it. Please dig deep and help me raise at least £2,000 through JustGiving. And don't forget if you're a UK tax payer please donate using GiftAid.
How could your sponsorship help Sue Ryder Care?
£15 Could provide a half hour physiotherapy session for someone with multiple sclerosis increasing their mobility
£25 Could pay for two home visits for someone who has had a stroke supporting their independence
£50 Could pay for three bereavement sessions helping people coping with loss
£300 Could cover the daily cost of running a hospice be
£750 Could buy a syringe driver to help someone with cancer manage their pain - the driver REALLY helped Dad avoid having numerous invasive and uncomfortable injections. We would love to be able to buy some of these for Leckhampton Court Hospice.
PS I’m also raising money by selling on www.ebay.co.uk . Take a look at my items under seller id london-marathon.
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11 February 2010
I realise it's about time I updated the site with news on how my training is going ...
... well surprisingly well. I've been following a schedule taken from "The Non-Runners Marathon Trainer" by Whitsett, Dolgener and Kole. The book is based on a marathon class offered over the years at the University of Northern Iowa that touts a high success rate for first time marathoners (199 out of 200 have finished). I train 4 times a week over a 16-week period. I was due to start the proper training on 4 January, but of course we had a downfall of snow which meant that outside training was impossible for 2 weeks. I managed to borrow a cycle roller which we installed in the dining room, but using it was deadly boring - I was going nowhere and getting hot in the process!! Thank goodness for podcasts, the only thing that kept me sane. So I've been training for almost 4 weeks now and I must say I'm quite amazed at what I've achieved both physically and mentally. I've already covered 65 miles (inc a non-stop 9-miler on Saturday!). The preliminary training from July until Christmas saw me run 120 miles. I'll increase the mileage each week building up to several 16 and 18 miles runs in preparation for the 26.2 I'll endure on 25 April.
The fundraising has also been ramping up. The ebay sales provide a constant trickle of income. As well as family items, I'm also buying at a local auction house and then selling on at a modest profit. The risk is that I possibly buy "tat" that I can't get rid of, but fingers crossed I've been lucky so far. We held a Marathon Coffee Morning in Winchcombe on what would have been Dad's 72nd birthday. Over 2 hours we raised £280 selling home-made cakes and biscuits - thanks to everyone who baked.
OK, it's time to list some more strange items on ebay ... anyone interested in a Star Wars camera that looks like Darth Vader's helmet???
25 March 2010
OMG - exactly one month to go today until I'm slogging the London streets. Although it's still such a scary prospect, I can't wait until race day arrives. The training has been relentless and exhausting and I just want it to be over and done with so I can get on with my life!! I really couldn't have fitted all the miles in (182 to date) without the support of Simon. He's been an absolute rock helping me prepare routes, looking after the kids, getting my huge bowl of pasta ready for me on my return from long runs and most importantly my hot water bottle. On Saturdays, when it's the week's big one, I am an complete wreck for the rest of the day too, normally retiring to bed to stiffen up nicely!
I managed to get into the local press a few weeks ago. I was a little amused to be described as "A mum from Sale". How times have changed! There have been no new donations as a result, but I been amazed by how many people now know what I'm doing - the butcher, the Salvation Army, Oscar's school teachers and a complete stranger who stopped me within a couple of hours of it coming out.
I've recently missed 6 consecutive training sessions, including 2 big ones, as a result of my 4 year old son Oscar being admitted into hospital and diagnosed with a rare kidney condition. All a bit traumatic, but he's on the mend now and I feel I can start running again.
I've no idea what my predicted time will be, all I want to do is finish in daylight!! Is that too much to ask??
3 April 2010
I'm upping the ante. I've done some more maths around what profit I've made already, by selling on ebay and other sidelines such as making soup for the church café, and I've calculated that as of today I've achieved 99% of my fundraising target. So I'm going to increase the goal to £4,000.
Now all I've got to do is fix this swollen right knee!!! Whoopppps.
24 May 2010
A month on and I'm almost recovered (and finished). A whopping 7 hours and 27 minutes!!! Quite appropriate I think, since during Dad's "Jet Setting Career" he would have travelled on many a 727 aircraft.
The run/walk was fantastic. My knee held out and never caused a twitch. Remarkable since I hadn't trained in over 4 weeks. The crowd's support was phenomenal and a major reason how I got round the course. They constantly cheered, clapped and shouted out my name. As I ran over Tower Bridge I actually felt I was a proper athlete. Check out the attached video clip - you'll find it just underneath the photos on the left-hand side.
Simon's meticulous planning beforehand meant that I was supported at various points around London. He carried half a field hospital on his back and even joined me on the last 7 miles from Canary Wharf all the way to Pall Mall. His feet were in a worse state than mine at the end!!
A BIG HUGE ENORMOUS THANKS goes out to the following people:
Simon (husband) for kid sitting, hot water bottles, hot pasta, massage and not doing a marathon before me.
Mum (mum) for believing in me and encouraging me
Dad (dad) for creating a stubborn plodding mule of a daughter
Bobbie (sister) for looking after the kids on race day and not loosing them on the Tube
Matt (physio) for fixing my knee
Lucy et al (Sue Ryder Care Fundraising Team) for giving me the opportunity to run the London Marathon and supporting me all the way
Everyone (you) for sponsoring me and helping me achieve my goal of raising £4,000 for such a fantastic charity
And before anyone asks, yes I would actually run a marathon again (shhh, but I wouldn't train for it!!!)