Hey Guys and Girls
SO I HAVE DONE IT! I RAN 26.2 MILES!!!!!!
My weird vibram five finger shoes were perfect and I feel GREAT! I have a sore knee but nothing esle is a problem and would happily do another one ASAP! IN fact SIGN ME UP!
It was such an amazing experiance and the croud were perfect. I hit 'THE WALL' at around 16 miles for 4 miles and the croud were such a support. Having Bobby in the croud was something to focus on to help me smash through the wall and pick up my pace again. Everyone was handing out Jelly Babies, oranges, water and playing music on the streets. It felt like a massive street party and it didnt really sink in that I was running the marathon untill i pased the finish line.
I finished in 5hrs 19mins 41 seconds! Which i'm over the moon at!
PLEASE PLEASE continue to show your support and sponsor me. As you can see im a quite a way from my target!
(for fundraising updates please see bottom of text - Tracy has now done her jump please see bottom of page for details)
As most of you are aware I am NOT exactly the most sportiest person in the world! If anything I cringe at breaking a sweat. However I have managed to get myself a place in the 2010 London Marathon! I applied for a place with Womens Refuge and they have offered me one of their sponsorship places (they must be mad!). Also to stir things up a little and make this task and even harder one, I have decided to run the Marathon in a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes - take a look at my photos to find out what they look like. These shoe basically resemble running bare foot without the ICK factor. They have no cushioning and totally change your running technique so I have had to learn how to run all over again. They are great, I love them and would NEVER go back to a normal trainier. My feet feel free as a bird and I now use every part of my foot and all my little fat sausage toes the way nature intended. Check out the website for more info : http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
Running the marathon was on my check list of things to do before I was 30 and unfortunately oh whoops I mean luckily 2010 is the year for me eekk!!!
I will be running for Womens Refuge (this is the part where I explain about the charity so please don't skip this although I will more than likely waffle on!) who support women and children suffering from domestic violence. Domestic violence claims the life of two women every week in the UK. Womens Refuge are on a mission to make people more aware of the early warning signs of domestic violence before everything spirals out of control and the perpetrator has total control of your life. Womens Refuge offer their full support and a way out of such a terrifying situation which most people aren't brave enough to take the first step on their own and then things can become too late. Womens Refuge has started a hard hitting Early Warning Signs campaign to help people be aware. It's scary that 81% of women were never educated about domestic violence at school; I know I was never taught about it and how to spot the signs.
Please, please dig into your pockets and give as much as you can. Even if it's only 50p it all adds up and every penny counts!
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Refuge gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
So please sponsor me now!
Shopping online? Access hundreds of your favourite online stores, including Amazon, John Lewis and Tesco, via www.buy.at/refuge and you could raise up to 12% commission on your purchases for Refuge at absolutely no cost to you, and with no impact on the service you receive!
Sponsorship fundraising updates:
On the 16th April Tracy Clarke will be loaded into a plane at Old Buckendham Airfield, Attleborough and throwing herself out of it some where over Norfolk in the aim to help me with my fundraising. Here is a link to the website so you can have a sneeky peek http://www.ukparachuting.co.uk/
Please show your support by donating as much as you can spare to help her with this exciting task that she has set! I wish I was doing it with her!
I thank Tracy so much in pledging her help!
Tracy has now done her jump this is what she had to say:
'Hello Everyone
I did it and it was absolutely fabulous. After driving to the wrong airfield we finally ended up at Beccles Heli pad and I think I probably jumped out of the plane at 11am.
I had 50 seconds of free fall at which I found myself just saying ‘oh my god, oh my god a lot!’, I fell through a cloud which was quite cold, but came out the other end, and finally the parachute went up and we circled around for 7minutes before I landed.
I got to the bottom and I think I had a fixed smile on my face for ages, it really was an experience and I was so grateful to the guy who dived with me, he was great. I’ll be putting some photo’s on our website shortly
Thank you to all who have donated.'
xxxx
