May 2014

Hey hey,

It’s all over!  What an amazing weekend.  I loved it all and it was a fitting end to a thoroughly enjoyable experience (never again!).

Thank you all for your kind sponsorship and following my marathon adventure.  All the money raised will all go towards helping others with heart conditions spend extra time with friends and family.

The race itself didn’t quite go to plan.  In summary:

- the first half went well and I felt great at 13.1miles (1.31)

- as I started to pick it up from 15ish miles I started to feel really odd

- I still felt I had plenty in the tank but I sensed something was wrong

- I eased off for the last hour (ish) and came in at 3.13.08

- upon finishing I felt really bizarre and went to see the medical support team

- they put me on a drip, stuffed ice down my shorts and took my temperature (in a place I haven’t had it since I was a baby)

- my temperature was 42.6 (not great)

- after about 30mins I cooled down, felt better and went down the pub to celebrate

This wasn’t quite how I planned finish my first marathon but in no way did it detract from a truly incredible experience; one which I’ll remember fondly for ever more.

Thanks again for providing a huge amount of motivation and support during the last few months and on Sunday.  A great great day.

Bye for now,

Tim

x

April 2014

Hi all,

 
Well it’s nearly time to hit the streets of London.  Thanks again to everyone who has kindly supported the British Heart Foundation and my marathon journey.

Since my last update, I have been training hard and have thankfully managed to stay injury free.  I have had a couple of minor niggles but it’s nice to have something else to moan about besides the awful weather.

Since my training started on 5 January my running watch reckons I have:

- run 643.46miles
- managed an average speed of 7.6mph
- burnt 76,958 calories

Of course all this is irrelevant and what happens on Sunday 13 April is what matters.  For those of you who will be in London on that Sunday I will keep an eye out for you on the route.  

My number is 35601 and I will be wearing a red BHF vest.  From 2.30pm I will be in the All Bar One Waterloo (1 Chicheley Street, SE1 7PY – which runs down the side of the grass next to the London Eye).  It would be great to see you there.

Any final donations would be amazing.  Thank you all once again and I will let you all know how I get on.

Bring it on!

Tim

 

February 2014

 

Thank you to everyone who has kindly sponsored me already.

In spite of the rain, wind and cold I’ve been loving the training.  Not sure what that says about me?  So far it’s been an interesting and enjoyable journey.

My training started in November and stopped after about three weeks as my knee was giving me all sorts of trouble.  After numerous sessions with the physio, hours of conditioning and stretching I managed my next run at Bushy Park Parkrun on Christmas morning, which was beautiful.

Since the start of January I have been upping the miles and am now training hard.  I am thoroughly enjoying it and the miserable weather hasn’t stopped me going out (yet!).

I’ve been to a few track sessions with Bristol and West athletics club.  These make me feel slow and old but it’s good to have someone to chase.

My fundraising total is creeping up towards the target.  I have got a Y7 (11 years old) tutor group and we’re working out how to fleece staff and parents for as much money as possible.  They are so much more inventive and pushy than me.

My training builds steadily over the coming weeks until the heaviest weeks in early March.

I’d be hugely grateful of any additional sponsorship to keep me focused on my motivation during the undoubtedly hard next couple of months.  If I don’t get close to my target I may not be running at all!

More to follow soon and thanks again for sharing my marathon adventure.

Tim

 

 

 

 

December 2013

Hello all!

Firstly, thanks for visiting my fundraising page and being part of my marathon journey!

In July 1993 Dick Ginns (my dad) had a heart attack whilst in California visiting his sisters.  He returned to England 6 weeks later and was immediately cared for by NHS cardiac and health care specialists.  In January 1994 he had a heart transplant at Papworth Hospital, which allowed him to live a full and active life for over 14 years.  During the last two years of his life he spent a significant amount of time in hospital, had two additional operations, battled with a number of secondary conditions and sadly passed away on 6July 2008.

Throughout these 14 years, the level of care, compassion and professionalism of all the NHS staff consistently amazed me and my family.

In May 2014 I will be turning 40 (hard to believe, I know) and I thought it was time to raise some money to allow others the same opportunity that my dad had; namely spending extra time with beloved family and friends.

I have been fortunate enough to receive a place for the London Marathon through the British Heart Foundation “Heart Runners” team and all the money raised will go straight to this charity.

Heart and cardiovascular disease still kills more people than any other disease.  The British Heart Foundation is dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information to everyone involved.

Those who knew my Dad will know how much pleasure he got from sport – this will be my greatest motivation through the many hours of winter training and the special day in London on 13 April 2014.

My fundraising target is £3,000 and I would be extremely thankful if you could make any contribution towards this total.

I will keep you posted on my fundraising and training progress through the coming months.

I know Dad would be grateful for any contribution and he would have got much amusement from seeing me cover 26.2 miles in as quick as timeas possible.  Bring it on!

Best wishes,

Tim

 

 p.s.    please feel free to pass this website onto anyone who you think would like to contribute to this worthy cause.