Update 11/12/2008:

I did the Liverpool 5K Santa Dash last Sunday, the 7th, and I've never seen so many Santas in one place.  The city centre was a sea of them.

They tried to get 8000 Santas to beat the world record held in Las Vegas, and I think they got about 7000, which was impressive enough anyway. It was a good craic, my kids loved watching it and the current fund total stands at £1,065, so it was well worth while.

I've run out of events now, and the donations have dropped off a bit.  But I've got over a thousand pounds for the fund so I'm happy with that - perhaps its time to call it a day for now, but my New Year's Resolution is to devote sometime to actually helping out with a charity.  Perhaps Nicola's Fund need a driver or something - I'll let you know!

Update 1/12/2008:

The Thomas Vale Pantomime Horse Grandnational was Sunday afternoon, around Birmingham's Centenary Square. They built a course probably around 400 metres long with various jumps to negotiate, built out of bails of straw.

As you might imagine the competitors can't all fit over the fences at the same time, so there were fallers at every hurdle and much hilarity!

I started from the back of the grid being a novice, riding 'Cantering Callum' and starting out at 16-1, which I thought was worth an each way bet. I did manage to make some ground and came in respectably around the middle somewhere, but didn't win any prizes, and the horse is probably now glue. The lad who won was far too serious, and would probably have beat me if I was wasn't wearing a costume and he was (hope I haven't given anything away there to younger viewers!)

I've tried to update my photo-posting skills but its not going too well..hopefully one will appear on here soon...

http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pb300071cp6.jpg

New Events coming soon:

30/11/2008, Birmingham Centenary Square: The Thomas Vale Pantomime Horse Grand National, riding "Cantering Callum".

7/12/2008, Liverpool, The 5K Santa Dash 08, in full Santa Suit.

Feel free to support or abuse me if in the area!

8/11/08. A word from Callum's family:

I received a letter today part of which reads:

The pain we feel everyday gets worse; the longing to have him here back where he belongs is the hardest part, his sisters miss him terribly as do all the extended family, so when I showed them all your kindness in doing the run in a little boys name you never knew it caused tears a plenty. Callum was real red; his favourite song is Fields of Anfield Road, we would sing it all the time. When Cal got sick I am so pleased I managed to take him to a couple of games; he was a fantastic player himself. His dream was to wear the red shirt, and mine too; knowing him, he would of as well. His illness took him very quickly, we were told there was nothing they could do for him on Friday 5th June. We took him home with the hope to see out his last few months but again this cruel illness had one more cruel twist, he only lasted 2 days and as you know on June 7th at 8.45 am Callum fell asleep into his Grandad's care; no more pain, he left that to us. But with kind people like yourself we feel nothing but pride that this lovely boy named Callum was our son.

Update 3/11/2008

The new total has broken the £800 barrier, which with GiftAid goes beyond a grand!  Thankyou everyone.

The second run went well yesterday; if running for 2 hours and 9 minutes through 'tracks' which were like The Somme, ridiculously steep hills with slimey banks, hurdling tree trunks every couple of yards, and wading through waist deep bogs of ice cold water and, well, sh*t, can be classed as 'well'!

They gave me a free milkshake at the end though, which of course, made it all worth while!

This site will keep taking donations until the end of January, and I've still got a couple of irons in the fire, so please keep passing the message on; every little helps for Nicola's Fund and the memory of Callum.  In order to keep the momentum going, I'm looking for another run or two to do before then, but there are scant few available at this time of year, so I'm open to suggestions?

Once the official photos are available, I'll post one on here to prove that I went through the 'Bog of Doom'.  In the meantime, below is some evidence of my pain in Brum last week.

Thanks again,

Chris

Update 26/10/2008.

You can see the new total which is great, and crucially I've now completed the first part of the challenge, which was to get round the Birmingham half marathon.

I did it in 1 hour 49 (and 50 seconds) which I don't think is too bad for someone who recently qualified for a mid-life crisis.

So a bit of rest now before next weekend's Hell Run - at about 9 miles this morning I was really regretting having entered that one too!

There's plenty of time for more donations, so pass the message on!

And thanks to everyone below, and all those that have given words of encouragement.

Chris.

Original message:

Let me tell you the story of a young boy....

Earlier this year my Mum was undergoing treatment at Clatterbridge as an outpatient and would tell me of a brave young lad who was regularly being treated on the same machine as hers with his Liverpool posters taped to the wall nearby.

This young lad was Callum Serjeant.

Now my focus was on my Mum, and regrettably whenever I accompanied my Mum to Clatterbridge, Callum wasn't about and so I never had the pleasure of meeting him myself. But my Mum would tell me about young Callum and ask me for my match programmes and other stuff which she said would always make his day when she passed them on.

Perhaps it was because I was focused on my own Mum at the time, but more likely it was testament to the bravery of Callum and the positive outlook that he portrayed to my Mum, that I never really appreciated how serious his illness was, and assumed that being so young and brave, he'd surely pull through once his treatment was complete.

Sadly, Callum didn't pull through, and as a result of his brain tumour he passed away on the 7th June 2008, aged 8 years.

Callum was a regular for Warner Knotty Ash FC until he became too ill and a true red until the day he died.

His parents, Julie and Colin, have given me permission to post on here in the knowledge that on Sunday 26th October, the day which would have been Callum's 9th birthday, I'll be running the Birmingham Half Marathon in Callum's memory, and the Hell Runner (Up North) the weekend after.

I'll be raising money for Nicola's Fund which is a charity that was recommended to Julie and Colin by their MacMillan nurse, and who provided a holiday for Callum to Centre Parks before he passed away. Nicola's Fund was in turn established in the memory of Nicola who passed away in similar circumstances 4 days short of her 15th birthday and now endeavours to improve the quality of life for children with cancer.

My eldest is 8 herself and I can't bear to imagine the pain that Julie and Colin have gone through, and other parents like them. I hope to raise a banner to Callum in Rome next May, but in the meantime I'd like to raise as much as I can for Nicola's Fund so that others can benefit.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Nicola's Fund 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!