Neil Bainbridge
Neil's Swindon Half Marathon page
Fundraising for Swindon Night Shelter
Story
A friend of mine challenged me in church one Sunday to get out of our comfort zone and do something. I thought it was an interesting challenge, until he suggested the idea of doing the Swindon half marathon. I immediately laughed and thought ' well that's never going to happen' but like an ear worm the idea wriggled in my head until one day a week or so later I found myself registering on the marathon website and paying the fee.
In hindsight I felt that paying a fee for what was to become 3 months of both physical and emotional pain was a little like rubbing salt in a gaping wound, however the money would end up being the least most uncomfortable part of the process.
Anyone that knows me will know I'm not built for running, I have more of a physique built for short powerful bursts that has unfortunately never been tested in any way shape or form. So at 44, overweight and entirely unfit I embarked upon a training routine that has literally almost killed me. Painful knees, painful legs, and 2 and a half months in I'm up to 10 miles in training and I can literally feel every step of every mile. I cannot see the attraction of this sport at all, it's just hours of pain, compounded with hours more pain as your body tries to recover afterwards. I've not lost much weight (mostly through poor dietary discipline) and the only 2 enduring legacies of this experience is the money I can raise goes to a really good cause and will make an actual difference to people living on the streets of swindon AND that I will never do anything like this again - people who run are (and I mean this entirely affectionately) absolutely crazy.
Please help by donating something to this charity, so that all this pain makes a difference.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Please help by giving a little towards the great work of the Swindon Night Shelter.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
In hindsight I felt that paying a fee for what was to become 3 months of both physical and emotional pain was a little like rubbing salt in a gaping wound, however the money would end up being the least most uncomfortable part of the process.
Anyone that knows me will know I'm not built for running, I have more of a physique built for short powerful bursts that has unfortunately never been tested in any way shape or form. So at 44, overweight and entirely unfit I embarked upon a training routine that has literally almost killed me. Painful knees, painful legs, and 2 and a half months in I'm up to 10 miles in training and I can literally feel every step of every mile. I cannot see the attraction of this sport at all, it's just hours of pain, compounded with hours more pain as your body tries to recover afterwards. I've not lost much weight (mostly through poor dietary discipline) and the only 2 enduring legacies of this experience is the money I can raise goes to a really good cause and will make an actual difference to people living on the streets of swindon AND that I will never do anything like this again - people who run are (and I mean this entirely affectionately) absolutely crazy.
Please help by donating something to this charity, so that all this pain makes a difference.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Please help by giving a little towards the great work of the Swindon Night Shelter.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.