May 2014, I crossed the Edinburgh Marathon finishing line (an itch I had to scratch before my 40th birthday) uttering the words, "If I ever suggest doing a marathon again, just shoot me"..

Fast forward 8 years and the unthinkable had happened. I found myself sat in Doddie's Memorial listening to his family and friends paying testament to the great guy that he was. John Jeffries was last to speak and he talked about the foundation, from its infancy to what it stands for now...to quote Doddie, "its not that there's no cure for MND, it's just that it's underfunded"...John Jeffries stated that we must forge forward with Doddie's legacy and continue to fundraise...and then I remembered...the funds sitting in my just giving account from my '5 Why Challenge' which like many things had come to an abrupt halt due to covid.

A sideways glace and who did I spot...Kevin Seinfield...and this is how the conversation sort of went in my head:

"That man is a machine, who can do 7 marathons in 7 days..

If he can do 7 surely I can do another one...

really, you've just had a major op and have hardly ran this year...

But its only one, it cant be that painful can it..."

and the seed was sown. A chance conversation with Katie Bryan ruled out the Rob Burrows marathon - had I seen the terrain and the hill at mile 17...I might be crazy but not that crazy...lets just say Katie was...

However, back to park run early Jan, I struggled to get round and then David Harris said "I am doing Edinburgh Marathon in May"... one new pair of trainers later and the training started in earnest early March, not that I had to truly think about it ..I just turned up and David told me where we were running, how far and even provided the drinks etc to get us round..however there have been many early starts!

During my initial fundraising ideas for Doddie I had thought about running 5 half marathons over 5 consecutive weekends - but who would want to do that?!...it appears however, that I've done it , I can't really say without thinking, as I have though a lot about what was hurting the most .. running  14 / 15 / 14 / 16 / 15 / 17 / 21 miles over 7 consecutive weekends - and having covered 300 miles in training..

So on Sunday 28th May, I will be taking to the streets of Edinburgh again..this time with David by my side (apparently he's going deaf in one ear, I am not sure why), Adelle ahead of us (she cant run as slowly as we need to)..and I'll be finishing off my fundraising attempts for Doddie's Foundation. 

Any money you could kindly spare to sponsor me would be greatly received. This is such a worthy cause.

My Name'5 Doddie Foundation was set up by Doddie (and the trustees) in response to Doddie’s frustration at the lack of options given to MND sufferers – no effective treatment, no access to meaningful clinical trials and no hope. Let’s give hope to those diagnosed with MND in the future. With the awareness and funds that Doddie has raised, this no longer seems impossible.

Thank you for taking the time to read this (and visit my just giving page)… 

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.