Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page for the Bristol half marathon on Sunday 6 September.
My finishing time was 2:16:50. I didn't trouble the leading pack, but I was just glad to get to the finish line without stopping! Your donations, a stash of jelly babies and a new iPod compilation all helped enormously!
I am not a huge fan of distance running and was a little fearful of attempting my first half marathon around the hills of Bristol, but I am dedicating my efforts to Joanna Brown and any money that you may kindly donate to the charity that was set up in her memory following her tragic death on 25 August last year.
I could never have asked for a better friend than Jo and no one could have provided a better example than she did of embracing new challenges and seeing them through to the end. Jo loved her university years in Bristol and she completed the half marathon there several years ago. She had found new enthusiasm for running in the last couple of years and had been following a typically thorough training program for the New York marathon 2009 when she died. Jo and I had been to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics and were on the return trip via Mongolia and Russia when she fell during a trek around the shoreline of Lake Baikal in Siberia and sustained fatal head injuries. Jo will always be an inspiration to her family, friends and all who knew her and I was certainly looking to her for strength when I was pounding the Bristol roads on Sunday.
The charity that has been set up in loving memory of Jo aims to encourage involvement in sport at all levels. Full details of our projects are available on www.thejoannabrowntrust.org.
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 - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Many thanks,
Helen
