Team Monika has been setup to support Jon Newsum-Smith on his epic 100k Ultramarathon in London on September 12th.

Jon is hoping to raise £10,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity so that the money raised can be put towards research into advanced gliomas, like the one that Monika, his wife, had before she passed away in September 2014.

Team Monika is attempting to assist Jon with reaching this target but more importantly they will be each running different sections of the 100k to help him get through this crazy challenge.

The official relay team consists of 

Leg 1 - Dave Stanley - A recent converter to running but fast becoming a very competent and speedy runner. Dave is captain of the team and is key to the co-ordination to the team's preparation. 

Key contribution - Ensuring Jon doesn't go off at an unsustainable pace.

Most likely to - Enter a marathon immediately after running his leg.

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Leg 2 - Lisa Marie Smith - A top female club runner who sadly lost her Dad Ray to a brain tumour last year.

Key contribution - Ensuring Jon refuels regularly and keeps his mind of the fact that at the end of this leg he is still only halfway

Most likely to - Feel as if the pace is unbelievably slow

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Leg 3 - Marie Collins - The most experienced runner in the team and one of Jon's cousins

Key contribution - Maintaining a steady pace and motivating Jon to keep going and remind him why he is doing this and how hard he has trained for this

Most likely to - Be positive and know exactly what to say and when

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Leg 4 - Matthew Brazier - A self-confessed hater of running but Jon's closest friend who made the commitment to the event after a bottle and half of wine

Key contribution - Talking Jon through the last 25k and supporting him whatever state he is in

Most likely to - Want to taper more than actually train!

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Additions to the team

Nik Davey (Also running Leg 1)

Nik is also relatively new to running but has been keeping Jon on his toes on the squash court for the last 5 or 6 years so he's no slouch. Nik will provide much needed humour on the 1st leg but is most likely to pull up with pain somewhere in his leg.

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Russell Sayer (Running Leg 3 & 4)

Russell has opted to run the 2nd 50k so has his work cut out as this in itself will be a difficult challenge. Russell has a great base fitness so he should be fine although the fact he hasn't done any training until August is a worry. Russell brings expertise in terms of physically challenging events from his experience of being in the Marines. He is most likely to have a beer the night before the event.

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Finally Jon, himself, is a member of the team. He cannot thank the other team members enough for volunteering to take part in the event. If you haven't sponsored him then please consider sponsoring our team as it will be linked to Monika's fund which has been setup by the Brain Tumour Charity.

If you would like to find out more about this please visit

http://www.thebraintumourcharity.org/supporter-groups/monika-newsum-smith-fund

(Please be aware this link is in Polish at the top of the page but underneath this is the full story in English)

Thanks for reading

Team Monika

(Dave, Lisa, Marie, Matt, Nik, Russell & Jon)