Challenge for Ginger 88 laps of the track

Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, May 2020, my grandad, Ron ‘Ginger’ Thompson passed away. 

He had been diagnosed with dementia quite a few years earlier and in a way, we had already lost him. I say this because towards the end he didn’t remember a lot. He didn’t remember people, or places and he would get easily angry or confused. My grandma, Elsie, looked after him at home. Towards the end when she couldn’t do it on her own anymore and Hospice At Home helped her out. 

As I am out in Cyprus there is, sadly, very little I can do to help. I spent a lot of time last year building up my running at Akrotiri running track after sustaining an injury. This particular running track is very dusty and a bit battered and I remember when I was running round, and around... and around. Thinking what grandad would say to keep going through the pain. 

He used to go running. Every. Single. Day. He told me he was the fasted footballer at Brunton Park and could outrun any of the others. Why? Because he put in the work. When he couldn’t run anymore, he’d walk. When he had dementia he would wander out of the house and be found at the golf club across a main road! He would say to me, when he was coaching football, that he’d like to see at least one of the lads vomit and that was the sign of a “good session”. He was ruthless but passionate. 

This got me thinking. I want to do something that encompasses this mentality and is horrible enough that people will sponsor me.

Grandad was 88 when he died. 

The track is a horrible place to run. 

I will likely vomit from what I have planned.

...I am going to run round the track 88 time for Hospice At Home Carlisle. They are a fantastic charity and will be struggling to fundraise as much money as a result of COVID. 

I calculate the distance to be 35.2km or 22miles. I’ve never ran this far. The most I have ever ran is 13.1 miles and I hated every second. I plan to complete the run before it gets too hot out here, ideally in the next few months!! I will post again when I’ve completed it. Let the training commence!!