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I decided I didn't have enough going on in my life to qualify for the superwoman of the year awards so thought I would run the Brighton Marathon (15th April 2012). The reality isn't quite as glamorous as I imagined.

Apparently training is considered a good idea otherwise you end up with wobbly legs for the last few miles. So, I "upped my distance" as we runners say...no problem...

I pictured gentle jogs along Brighton seafront with people smiling at me and wishing me good luck (even though they didn't know me) while I gracefully glided past them like a ghost on the wind. The reality, I'm sorry to say, was rather a lot of chafing and rather more ruddiness in the face than I was hoping for.  Also my children have even expressed concern at how I smell after a particularly long run.

Over the past few months I have been manic about the training schedules.  I have been in tears because some days I just couldn't  run more than a few of the miles I had to do that day, so was convinced I was going to fail  and worried that I was spreading myself too thinly with my family, especially with the fourteen mile runs on a sunday that the stupid training book says I have to do.

How do I find the motivation and will to run 26.2 miles? you may ask ."The first guy to do it in Greece ran the twenty six miles with a message for the King then keeled over stone dead....I'll pick you up at the pier"   These are the encouraging words of my husband Vic as he dropped me off for a long training run. Also, the sound of Vic, Lily, Spike and Evie shouting "Run Forrest, run" everytime they pass me in the car should be all the motivation that I need.

However, come the last few miles of the race I know I will need a little more than that so I have decided to run to raise money for a charity that was important for me and has had a profound effect on my life.

My dad, Stan, died in 2001 . He had lung cancer and his final weeks were at the Royal Marsden Hospital. The care he received was wonderful and the support we received was also wonderful. Not much else to say really. Only that without them things would have been a lot harder.

So any donation you can spare will be going to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to help with research and patient care.

Everyone has their own stories and events that shape their lives and the days I spent at the Royal Marsden shaped mine forever . I know my Dad would be proud of me for doing this and I think that will be the motivation that will get me through the last few miles of the race - hopefully without the wobbly legs.

thanks for visiting

Love Jules x

 

 

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