Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Hi, my name is  Kevin Regan , if I may I'd like to give you a bit of background about myself and why I'm asking you to part with your cash.

After returning from holiday last May having over indulged I decided to try to get back to some reasonable level of fitness and also lose some weight . I began running just around my local area and believe me it was really tough !! I could think of a million reasons not to go out running each time and quite often,  opted not to , so I signed up to run the Glasgow 10k in order to give me something to focus on and motivate me. I completed the run in 55 mins and I was really chuffed , I thoroughly enjoyed the event and all the people lining the route to cheer us on and at that point I reckon I caught the running bug.  I continued running and completed a further two 10k runs and then decided to go for the big one - the Edinburgh Marathon - which takes place on 22nd May 2011. Knowing I have given myself  a mountain to climb I have been training pretty hard each week and have signed up for a half marathon and a kilomathon ( 26.2.k - 16m ) in the run up to the big day. So here's hoping....

Why the MS Society Scotland as my chosen charity? When I first decided to run the marathon this was always going to be my first choice. I have a brother Davie , who has been an Multiple Sclerosis sufferer for 25 years and we lost our sister Linda,  15 years ago to this devastating illness so I know only too well how it can affect the sufferers and their families.

The MS Society do some great work supporting people with multiple sclerosis to improve their quality of life , they also fund research into the cause, cure and symptoms associated with the condition and your donation will help in a number of ways ;

£10   would help provide vital information leaflets about MS

£15  would pay for an hour of MS Research time

£30  would help towards the running costs of their MS free phone helpline

£50   would contribute to their individual support grant programme that provides mobility aids, adaptations and equipment

Every single penny donated will help towards this worthy charity and will be greatly appreciated so please dig deep !

I will update you on a regular basis on how the training is coming along and how the fundraising is going  .

Thanks again and take care

Kevin   

 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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Hi folks , thought I'd give you all a quick update on how things are going ...

The training is going well , now that the slightly better weather is here it means the thermals have been put away and I'm running in daylight which is nice . I'm trying to get out 4-5 times a week usually doing 8 - 10 miles and Sunday mornings have been taken over with the weekly long run , I'm up to 20 miles now so feeling pretty good although the marathon is now only 10 weeks away so really need to keep pushing coz there's still a long way to go .

Thanks to all of you for your donations both on and offline , the current total stands at £420 which is fabulous! I'm confident we'll reach the target of £1000 if I keep pestering enough of you to part with your cash, everyone has been extremely generous and it is very much appreciated .

I'll continue to keep you updated on how things are progressing and who knows , I might even upload a photo or two,  although the image of me in my lycra could be upsetting to some......    

Thanks again

Kevin        

 

Hello again folks,

Just a quick update to let you all know how things are going , I took part in the Edinburgh Half Marathon on Sunday past (10th)  and completed the course in 1hr 48 mins so quite happy with that considering the weather was very warm which made it pretty tough going . The route was similar to the full marathon route so gave me a feel for that which was good and there was terrific support throughout the run with some local residents using thier garden hoses to cool us down as we passed , very thoughtful and much appreciated !   

Next step is the Scottish Kilomathon which is 26.2 kilometres ( 16.3 miles) and that takes place this Sunday 17th .The route takes us over the Forth Road Bridge so that will be pretty cool.

So just 5 or so weeks to go to the big day , the clocks ticking and I'm feeling a tad anxious but hopefully things will go to plan on the day and I'll get over the finishing line ( without the aid of any paramedics!)

The fundraising is continuing to go really well , it's currently sitting at £740 so that's fantastic and I'm confident we will reach the target of one thousand pretty soon . Thanks again to everyone who has generously donated it really is very much appreciated.

I'll keep you all updated with how things are going .

Take care and thanks again

Kevin   

 

Hello again folks,

Its been a few weeks since I updated you on how things are going so thought I'd bring you up to speed .

 I completed the Kilomathon on the 16th april in 2 hr 21 mins which was not bad considering it was very warm and an extremely hilly course . Running over the Forth Road Bridge was pretty special and the course took us through South Queensferry , Kirkliston and finished back at Ingilston . the fact that I knew the roads well only served to add to the task as I knew exactly when I was approaching the hills on the course , especially the Hawes brae and the end on South Queensferry , a hill that I have difficulty getting up in the car let alone running up!!!

I had a bit of a scare after injuring my left foot which meant I couldn't run for 10 days or so but managed to shake it off and I'm back on track. The big day is almost upon us, it's this Sunday 22nd and I've received my running number in the post so there's no getting out of it now! The nerves are beginning to jangle a bit as it gets nearer but hopefully I've done enough training to get me over the finishing line and who knows, maybe put in a respectable time. So here''s hoping it's not too warm on the day and everything goes to plan .

As for the fundraising ...., I am overjoyed to announce that the target I set of £1000 has been blown out the water and we're currently sitting at £1135 !!!

The generousity of everyone who has donated has been overwelming and I can't thank you all enough for helping in raising such a fantastic sum which I know will be gratefully accepted by the MS Society.

Thanks once again for all your donations and kind words of support.

Take care  

Kevin

      

 Hey folks,

Well the big day arrived yesterday and I completed the Edinburgh Marathon in a respectable time of 4 hrs 6 mins. I had been hoping to finish in 4 hours and was on course to do so up to around 18 miles but the final 8 miles was running against the wind which made it pretty tough . I gave it all I had so I'm quite happy with my time and the fact I managed to finish the course at all . 

I had been advised to put my name on my shirt so I had KEV printed on my chest,  the support I received from the crowd was amazing with people shouting my name with loads of encouragement , it really helped lift my spirits particularly in the final few miles when I was beginning to struggle a bit . The  weather was so changable  throughout from warm sunshine to horizontal driving rain that literally took your breath away but the scenery down the coast was very nice and the support throughout the route was fantastic.

So there you have it , I've done it ! After 9 months of training through  the winter months in all weather conditions, running through snow, hail and pouring rain trying to keep motivated and focused on those long lonely runs it's all finally paid off . I'm now over two stone lighter and fitter than I've ever been and I can say I've ran a marathon, not bad if I say so myself.

Now to start collecting the donations that have been pledged so I'll hopefully be able to give you a grand total in the next week or so .

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me with warm words of encouragement throughout all of this , without them I doubt if I would have seen it through .

Take care and thanks again

Kevin