It’s the Robin Hood Half Marathon on Sunday and C, LB and I will be lining up at the start in our fetching orange vests to while away the following couple of hours meandering our way steadily across Nottingham. When I ran this race in 2009, I was expecting to feel tired, but what took me by surprise was quite how many physical and emotional ups and downs you go through over the course of a half marathon. It was quite the roller-coaster. I remember feeling terrible at about 6 miles as I ran up the hill in the University park (when I was picked up by Neil Young’s “Rocking in the Free World”) but then feeling absolutely brilliant at the ten mile marker before my legs finally turned to stone on the final mile up towards the finishing line.
I’m hoping to beat 1 hour and 55 minutes this year, and I know that LB would dearly love to break 2 hours, but the times we’re aiming to run aren’t the whole story: we’re running this race to raise money to support the MS Society. I’m also hoping that, by being completely open with everyone about the fact that I have MS as I have hunted for sponsorship money, I’m helping to spread a tiny little bit of awareness about what MS is and how it affects people. MS is a nasty condition for which there is currently no cure…. But a diagnosis with MS does not necessarily mean that you are doomed to life in a wheelchair or to die young or any of those other preconceptions that people hold about it. I’m not superman; I’m 37 years old and I have multiple sclerosis…. And I’m running a half marathon.
The MS Society is, of course, very much a self-interest charity for me – my younger brother has MS too –but I am enormously grateful to LB and C for running the race with me and helping to raise money for such a good cause. That they have been prepared to give up so much of themselves to run this race to raise money for a charity that I've chosen means an awful lot to me and I love them both for it dearly.
Thanks too to every single one of you that has taken the time and the trouble to sponsor us. It’s a great charity that offers MS Sufferers and their families front-line support and also one that is funding the research that will one day lead to the discovery of a cure. Every single donation that you guys have made, no matter how small, will make a massive difference. I am touched that so many of you, many of whom I haven’t even met, are prepared to put your hands into your pockets to support us.
Thank you.
It looks like we’re going to raise – gift aid included – around £3000. That’s pretty damn amazing, I reckon.
Still time to sponsor us, of course….. http://www.justgiving.com/TCN …or you can even donate by mobile phone: simply text JQOD65 £10 to 70070 and ten pounds (or whatever number you choose to put in there) will magically appear on the total at no additional cost to you.
I know! Amazing!
In the immortal words of Han Solo, "You're all clear kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home!"
See you on the other side.
No comments:
Post a Comment