On May 6th 2013, on a beautiful Bank Holiday afternoon,I started running-  "Sal... I think I'm gonna try and run 1000 miles" I spluttered, awaiting my beautiful wife's response. As ever she was fully supportive and totally understood my explanation that having watched family,pupils, colleagues and friends suffer various forms of this awful disease I wanted to do something to help. 

We all know the statistics. At some point in our lives many of us will be affected directly or indirectly by cancer. In just 10 months of running this challenge the statistics have really hit home and only recently an ex collegue sadly lost her fight in her mid twenties. It's no marketing or money making plot , the figures are real and whilst we are generally winning the battle against 'C' , it still hurts us all!

Many of you will know that challenges are part of the CW family mindset and we have raised over £15000 in thelast 10 years for various charities. Having said that, our lives are busier than ever and this challenge is rather a large one!

This year, with your help we have raised valuable funds for Macmillan. You may ask why ? They are a big charity and they have large corporate support however their costs are rising drastically as the reality of supporting families suffering from 'C' is beginning to hit more and more of us each year.

The challenge of running 1000 miles in 1 year may be easy for an athlete but I started from scratch and well, you could say I was a little unfit and ever so slightly over weight .

It has been quite tough as we've had the wettest weather in years and running has been particularly unpleasant but the 1000 mile mark was smashed 2 months early at the Retford Half marathon with the fantastic support of my loving family.

It certainly hasn't been easy but I've had amazing support. Firstly, Sally and the kids have been unbelievable! They have given me great strength and I love them so much . Family and friends have been wonderful too- especially my Brother Kev and friend Jon. Much of the running has been at night after a busy day at work and my pupils at school are probably ...no definitely fed up of hearing about my running. 

My big sponsors include BROWNS BISTROT and FIDLER & PEPPER SOLICITORS . they have been immense! Support from a few celebs has been great too: David Walliams, The Hoff , quite a few others and oh... Dick and Dom !

So around 1300 miles , 40 plus marathons or over 80 half marathons , maybe 10 million strides ,10000 minutes of running , 200000 calories, not to mention the hours of prep time and impact on the CW family - has it been easy?  NO but is it worth a few quid from your pocket to support Macmillan? I hope so . 

Dig deep folks and help make a difference.

Update!

London Marathon on 13th April -amazing support this weekend - massive thanks to Kev and John!!! we did it!!!! I high fived thousands of spectators, danced with the singers and musicians then recovered well with a Macmillan massage too, I also met Anna Watkins :-) amazing experience:-)  still searching for those extra donations as we get ever closer to the £5000 mark.  

Now the very proud winner if the Mansfield Fundraiser of the year award, I'm even more motivated to eek out that little extra cash from those of you that are inspired and interested in this challenge. The London Marathon was completed on.  the 13th April and I'm going to do a little run to end everything on the 6th May 2014. We will also be having a party on Wednesday 21st May 2014 to celebrate (at Browns). If you have a spare hour and want to come and support , it would really be appreciated . 

Keep an eye on the updates here and on Facebook. The miles will gradually stack up - tracked by Run Keeper.com

Thanks everyone,

Andy Callaghan-Wetton