Thank you for visiting our fundraising page.

On 27th October 2007 both Monique and Sarah will run the Snowdonia Marathon. This will be Sarah's 11th Marathon and Monique's 1st,and the biggest challenge we have both faced so far.  Firstly a little bit about our training and the course.  We started training about 5 months ago and do two shorter runs during the week and our big run on a saturday morning at 6.30 am.  We do one week of mileage on the flat, although living in Devon inevitabily we comes across some hills.  The next two weeks our training will be as many hills as we can find.  We have to do this to prepare us for the severity of hills that we are going to encounter on the day. Our mileage whilst penning this is up to 20 miles and for Monique to break through the 20 mile barrier will give her a boost before doing the race.  On mile 21 we hit what will be the toughest test for us both a 3 mile hill followed by a 2 mile decent to the finish line. None of our training can prepare us for this and as Sarah say's "we will pull this out of the bag on the day".  Monique keeps telling her she's not planning on taking a bag!! and is now worried about colour coordinating a handbag with trainers etc.  All this and working full time and looking after our families has not been easy but for both of us we took this challenge seriously and raising a decent amount of money was the reason that we choose one of the hardest Marathons we could find in this country  .  Please take the time to go into www.marathonguide.com and look at some of the reviews of this race. This gives you some idea of what we are about to do.       

Monique's Story:  Six and a half years ago my Dad  was diagnosed with Prostate cancer, for the next 6 years they controlled and held this at bay.  I decided that I would do one challenge  for sponsorship to raise awareness for this disease. My Dad supported me and planned to come along to hand out energy gels to us both along the way. 

 On 22nd July 2007 my life changed for ever when my Dad suddenly went to sleep. His passing away has left a massive gap in mine and my families lives.  This marathon has now taken on a completely new meaning for me and I promised my Dad on the day he died that no matter how hard, I would finish this Marathon.  Although I will have the support of my family on the day I know my Dad will be giving me a gentle push up the really bad hills. DAD I LOVE AND MISS YOU SO MUCH XXX   

Sarah's Story: Dad was a quiet gentle man who loved his family, music and the sea who died from Prostate cancer on the 2nd November 2003 just 2 weeks before his 77th birthday.  I felt privileged to have looked after him in his last 6 months.  Dad never really understood why I would want to run a marathon but was really proud of my achievements and would tell anyone who would listen that his daughter was going to run in one.          I KNOW YOU ARE THERE WATCHING DAD XXX    

This Marathon is so important to us both as we have both lost our Dads through Prostate cancer.  One Man an hour dies of this dreadful disease and if awareness is raised and it is caught in its early stages more of our Dads, Husbands and sons would live.

Please, Please, Please give generously.  Thank you

love

Monique & Sarah xx    

Hi Everyone,

Just to let you know that we did it.  All the training and months of hard work paid off and we got round the course and managed to hang on to our humour.  One of the things that made us go for this marathon was that it was not a marathon that had to be completed in a set time.  Unfortunately the night before we were informed that due to weather conditions if you were not at a certain point (21 miles by 5 hours then you would probably be pulled out of the race) so the run started with a certain amount of pressure. The first 4 miles of the run took us from Llanberis (300 ft) up to the top of a hill (1200 ft) the view was fantastic and thankfully the training that Sarah had insisted we do held us in good stead and we got up the top in less than an hour. We then had a downhill run for a couple of miles which was followed by yet again more hills. We finally reached mile 21 in less than 4.5 hours.  The climb from here was very severe and the bonus was that half way up (2 miles) a very kind man gave us a sweet and then at the very top water stop another chap offered us what we thought was water but was in fact a cup of sweet tea....... quite hard to drink whilst running.  This is where the run went off road and coming down back into llanberis with very tired legs was quite scarey, did not need to slip at this point so near to the end. One of the most fantastic feelings for Monique was seeing the 26 mile marker and know that only another .2 of a mile to go.  We finished the run in 5.50.58 and out of over 1500 entrys came in 1142.  The last person to finish came in at 7.48.32 (so gives you some idea).  We want to thank everyone who came up to support us, Mum (monique's) Arriane, Collette, Roger, Jilly, Ray, Agnes  Penelope (Sarahs daughter) the most gorgeous Annabell and  Kevin  for sticking with us throughout the race  and helping us along.  Sarah your an insparation and I thank you so much for being my trainer and friend.   The last thanks goes to everyone who sponsored us we raised more than we had hoped and we both know that our Dads would have been proud of us.  Thank you all so much.

Love

Monique & Sarah xxx    

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to donate: The Prostate Cancer Charity will receive your money electronically and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in Gift Aid will be added to your donation at no cost to you.



Many thanks for your support.