I managed to delete all the previous waffle so here's a revised version. A big "Thank you" to everyone who's donated so far.
Launceston half marathon race report on http://midgetjonessrunningdiary.blogspot.com/ Look in the July archive. I hope it will give you a smile.
I'm training for sub-2 hours at Reading next year. That might give you a laugh as well!
How and Why
I started running on 12th April 1999, the day before my 50th birthday, and I managed to struggle round a couple of miles. The Big Day was memorable for the agony as I came downstairs and for one of my presents: a Runner’s World magazine with the tag line “Break your Marathon Barrier.” Since then I’ve done 14 marathons and a 35-mile ultra-marathon and run in places as diverse as wild moorland in Scotland, places called Mist (which lived up to its name) and Jewel (which didn’t) in Oregon and an industrial estate in Abingdon. I’ve been wet, cold, sunburned and muddy, once all on the same day.
I’ve also been lucky to meet some great people, including Paula Radcliffe and many others whose names will be unfamiliar but who have helped and inspired me in their own way: sometimes with words of encouragement, by telling me their running stories, by giving me advice or simply by running with me. Darren Gordon, a 27-year-old friend and colleague, a regular runner with a best time for a half marathon of 1:13:44, helped me in all of those ways. He was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in November 2008 and passed away on September 21st 2009.
To mark my 60th birthday I am raising funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care and for the Palliative Care Unit at . I have a Marie Curie running vest and I’m asking you to guess how far my vest will go if I wear it for all training runs and races from the start of the Reading Half marathon on 29th March 2009 to the finish line of next year’s race on 21st March 2010. Forecast the mileage, pay a penny a mile and the person who’s closest will win a prize. To help you estimate, my mileage since 2006 has been between 733 and 1030 miles in a year.
Please help me by having a guess how many miles I’ll do or by making a donation. 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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Please dig deep and donate now.
