This is a blatant request for money!!!!!

 I have agreed to run the Brighton Marathon on 18^th April this year, with the aim of raising money for Children on the Edge. The charity was set up by Anita Roddick in 1990, initially in response to the crisis in Romanian orphanages. It now provides help for some of the world’s most disadvantaged children, particularly in areas where political regimes have made their prospects for a stable and fulfilling life desperately poor. And I’m asking you to consider sponsoring me to run 26 and a bit miles for a worthwhile cause.

 What I’m raising money for

I want to help Children on the Edge with initiatives such as helping refugee children from Burma, who arrive in India without official papers, to receive scholarships for basic education. Another project is working to discourage Thailand’s practice of deporting Burmese refugees straight back to the military regime in their country, which most of us in the West recognise as particularly brutal. A third is to support a centre in Moldova for children whose parents are working abroad and who rely on grandparents for shelter. The Centre provides a warm and safe place for these children to visit, to receive a hot meal, get help with homework and talk to someone in confidence about their problems. And work continues in Romania, helping children who have been institutionalised to integrate into society, and helping parents to learn to care for children with disabilities. For more information, see

http://www.childrenontheedge.org/

How I became entrapped into agreeing to all this

 An ex-colleague of mine and fundraiser for Children on the Edge, Jane Meecham, caught me at an unguarded moment and persuaded me that I could raise funds by running a marathon on their behalf. After all, as a fit guy it shouldn’t be too much trouble to me, and I only have to undertake to raise at least £500…..well thanks Jane! I may be a keen runner, but I haven’t run a marathon since 2001 so it has been some time. And of course there is the matter of age. I was 48 last time and I’m 57 now, so can I still do it? All will be revealed on 18^th April, and it may not be a pretty sight. With hindsight I believe I have been blatantly manipulated into this by Jane, but I will admit I have been entrapped for all the right reasons. If I think of the problems faced by so many children worldwide it makes a few hours of personal discomfort and a blister or two a small price to pay.

 How’s the training going so far?

1st  March: I’m following a 14 week training schedule and have just completed week 7. Over the last 5 weeks I've averaged around 55 miles per week so the stamina is building. Plodding around in the dark evenings isn’t too much fun, particularly in this cold weather, but soon daytime will extend a bit further and I might even catch the odd ray of sunlight. Weekends give the treat of running in the daylight, albeit often in the pouring rain. A minor ache in one foot is responding well to Ibuprofen gel, otherwise no injuries, inevitably feeling a bit knackered but the fitness is getting there.

7th March: Another 55 mile week completed with a 20-miler setting out at 7am this morning. Took 2hr 25min and felt OK afterwards but not sure how another 6 miles would have gone! But it felt good to be out early in very bright sunshine, although a cold wind. Saw a buzzard flapping around lazily at one point.

17th March: A lower mileage schedule last week (35m) but included a fast 4.5K race. Then took a couple of days off training with sore throat and achy limbs, but now feeling better and just a bit sniffy, back on the road again.

28^th March: two more 50-mile weeks completed, with a 20 mile run today, running a lot into the wind. Felt much more tired over the last few miles than the previous 20-miler and glad not to have been doing another 6 miles. But mileage will taper down after next week, maybe helped with a bit of relaxation over Easter. Bought a new pair of trainers ready for the race yesterday, nice and bouncy compared with the old ones which have gone quite flat.

 

 The bottom line

The bottom line is that by 20 miles it starts to get tough. The legs start to ache, the mind starts to wonder why, and you need to know you are being sponsored so you can’t wimp out. And that’s where I need you, to provide that blatant moral blackmail to push me to the finishing line. Please sponsor me by clicking on  

http://www.justgiving.com/David-Dorning  

Any amount is welcome, no amount too small. You can even send me a message. All insults along the lines of "grumpy old men should know better" will be received with as much grace as I can muster. 

Thank you

David

 

 

 

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