A few weeks ago at a family gathering in Glasgow, Martyn my son in law, who had just completed a 30 mile race, challenged me to do a half marathon with him. As I am now in the 60 + age group and haven’t run for over 20 years (when I used to jog along the local canal with my dog) there was only one answer I could give: “ I accept”
Of course alcohol was involved somewhere along the way & I was remembering my days in the Territorial Army when I used to be able to run for miles, so of course I could do it! Just let me know where and when I slurred. Within a minute I was informed there was a 13.5 mile run around Garstang (where I now live) in 10 weeks time. Amazing what you can find out on smart phones these days.
Well I retired that night full of bravado & woke up the next morning thinking what on earth have I done? I hoped Martyn had forgotten about the challenge but of course he hadn’t and that is how I now find myself running not so much as a headless chicken but a man with a purpose!
I thought, if I’m going to do this then I should have a good reason to do so - especially after my first run / stagger of 3 miles when I thought my lungs were going to burst. If I’m going through this much pain then I need to do it for a good cause to give me more incentive.
I mentioned to my line manager, Martyn Climpson, what I was doing & the fact I had no sensible reason for doing it and he suggested I do it for “Grow Your Own” . Rydon Maintenance like to support this good cause as much as possible so it seemed an ideal opportunity to assist them.
Decision made, I now had a purpose too. My first run had worked out as 15 agonising minutes per agonising mile but do you know – it felt good, in a painful sort of way!
Anyway, the most important thing now is to get round on Sunday 3rd September, preferably in one piece, and raise whatever money I can for the most worthwhile cause of “Grow Your Own”. If you would like to donate any money then please feel free to do so