The Great North Jog
Jill Barber is raising money for Christian Aid
Story
Many thanks everyone. I did finish the Great North Run, slower than I hoped because of nursing a dodgy knee (3 hours 20 - yes I know, slow!). It wasn't as tough as climbing Ben Lomond (which caused the dodgy knee), but the walk to the bus (a mile beyond the finish) was a bit of a killer.
There's a wretchedly early start - 6.30 breakfast, 7.30 bus, then more than two hours wait for the start and half an hour waiting to cross the start. Surprisingly, it wasn't boring. I've never been part of a crowd that big before, being neither a football supporter nor a pop music fan. The pre-run sing was fun. They handed out copies of the words of "Jerusalem", but not of "The Way to Amarillo". This made some of us feel very old.
Once the run starts, there are kids lining the streets, handing out water, orange juice and sweets and wanting to clap hands with the runners. Elderly people get their deck chairs out and spend the day watching and clapping. The only dispiriting bit is watching those who have already finished jogging (!) in the opposite direction, trying to catch a bus or something.
I dropped more litter yesterday than in a lifetime. So did a lot of people. Old clothes get recycled. Goodness knows what happens to all the plastic water bottles, not to mention thousands of song sheets. The organisation is terrific though. Both people and machines were in places waiting to tidy up the streets, and the portaloos were OKish even at the end. Medium T-shirts were a bit hard to come by - there were more medium people and fewer large than expected apparently!
Next year's ambitions will be more modest - finish the chess book and bag a few more Munros. Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. It's not too make a small donation. Many thanks to everyone who has already sponsored me. The offline total above refers to cash received. There are a dozen or so sponsor forms in local Churches, chess clubs and the University of Manchester, with various amounts pledged. Donating through this site secure and efficient. Christian Aid will receive your money almost immediately and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. Christian Aid works in partnership with many organisations around the world. The Thadaham Rural People's Organisation (Thadaham, Sri Lanka) is one example. Thadaham is a community based organisation established in 1993 with a membership of 2,700. Thadaham seeks to organise the poorest communities (Muslim communities, women, farmers, fisherfolk) to meet their own development needs through federation building, awareness raising, literacy and gender training and income generation. This year's Running Water appeal seeks to bring clean water to many who need water more than any other resource.
There's a wretchedly early start - 6.30 breakfast, 7.30 bus, then more than two hours wait for the start and half an hour waiting to cross the start. Surprisingly, it wasn't boring. I've never been part of a crowd that big before, being neither a football supporter nor a pop music fan. The pre-run sing was fun. They handed out copies of the words of "Jerusalem", but not of "The Way to Amarillo". This made some of us feel very old.
Once the run starts, there are kids lining the streets, handing out water, orange juice and sweets and wanting to clap hands with the runners. Elderly people get their deck chairs out and spend the day watching and clapping. The only dispiriting bit is watching those who have already finished jogging (!) in the opposite direction, trying to catch a bus or something.
I dropped more litter yesterday than in a lifetime. So did a lot of people. Old clothes get recycled. Goodness knows what happens to all the plastic water bottles, not to mention thousands of song sheets. The organisation is terrific though. Both people and machines were in places waiting to tidy up the streets, and the portaloos were OKish even at the end. Medium T-shirts were a bit hard to come by - there were more medium people and fewer large than expected apparently!
Next year's ambitions will be more modest - finish the chess book and bag a few more Munros. Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. It's not too make a small donation. Many thanks to everyone who has already sponsored me. The offline total above refers to cash received. There are a dozen or so sponsor forms in local Churches, chess clubs and the University of Manchester, with various amounts pledged. Donating through this site secure and efficient. Christian Aid will receive your money almost immediately and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. Christian Aid works in partnership with many organisations around the world. The Thadaham Rural People's Organisation (Thadaham, Sri Lanka) is one example. Thadaham is a community based organisation established in 1993 with a membership of 2,700. Thadaham seeks to organise the poorest communities (Muslim communities, women, farmers, fisherfolk) to meet their own development needs through federation building, awareness raising, literacy and gender training and income generation. This year's Running Water appeal seeks to bring clean water to many who need water more than any other resource.