Hi All!

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Earlier this year, we set ourselves the crazy challenge of running the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon 2009! Of course, we didn't want to put ourselves through this for nothing, so we've selected a couple of charities for the team to represent.

Keep checking back to this page to hear about our progress - I'll keep you posted with how we are going on training for the event.

Training Progress:

So here's the first update:

05 Aug 2009: Today is the first day of our "proper training schedule"! I ran 3.5 miles today, Stephen managed 4.75 though, and Tris ran considerably more - having run to and from our house before running the 4.75 miles with Stephen!

Pip and I spent yesterday buying the right trainers. Basically, we've have accessorised ouselves to the hilt, but now we are determined to up our game so I can catch up to the other ladies before the big day!

Alex and Stephen have been to a seminar at Birmingham Uni to get the lowdown on how to train sensibly.

16 Aug 2009: Training schedule has been cranked up a notch now. I've managed 6 miles last week (which has to be some world record or something). Ok, so it took me 65mins to drag myself around the canals of Birmingham - but slow is better than not at all!

Pip has returned from Cornwall, and determined to catch up with training with the gays.

Stephen and Alex are going for a 6 mile run today - to the University Train Station and back!

Why we chose this charity:

Stonewall was founded in 1989 by a small group of women and men who had been active in the struggle against  Section 28 of the Local Government Act.

Section 28 was an offensive piece of legislation designed to prevent the so-called 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools; as well as stigmatising gay people it also galvanised the gay community.

The aim from the outset was to create a professional lobbying group that would prevent such attacks on lesbians, gay men and bisexuals from ever occurring again. Stonewall has subsequently put the case for equality on the mainstream political agenda by winning support within all the main political parties and now has offices in England, Scotland and Wales.

So, if you are reading this now - you've already made a huge difference! Share this with your friends, family and colleagues and help us reach our target of £400. I've seen the difference this money makes, and even if you can only afford a few pounds - every penny will help us reach our target.

To view the other Team Gay charity page (for Birmingham Childrens' Hospital) paste this URL into your browser:

www.justgiving.com/Team-Gay-Runners

Thanks for reading - and keep checking back! We'll try and post some training vids, and we'll keep adding to this blog to keep you amused, and hopefully inspire you to part with a little more cash each time ;-)

Thanks!

Chris & Team Gay!

P.S. Make sure you check the Gift-Aid box if you are a UK Taxpayer! Wouldn't you rather Stonewall benefit from your tax?!

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