Tag: Half Marathon

63 Work life balance

Today has been a very strange sort of day for me.  I work in education so have school holidays (I know I am very lucky). During term time, I work hard and over recent months have started to struggle.  I found my MS fatigue and other symptoms  impacted on my daily life and it was getting to the point where I was cancelling social events and spending all my non-working time trying to recover from the working day.  

Towards the end of last term, my life consisted of work/eat/sleep and not much else and it started to get me down.  In December, I made the decision to reduce my working hours to 4 days per week, instead of 5.  The reduction in income is a bit of a worry, but I am hoping to achieve a better work/life balance and to have time and energy to see friends and to manage everything else.  

So today was my first non-working term time day!  I didn’t do anything exciting – a bit of resting, a bit of cleaning and sorted some paperwork – but it feels good to be entering the weekend with a little more energy and with a few jobs out of the way. 

Tomorrow, George will be bravely taking on the challenge of the Runthrough Victoria Park Half Marathon, despite suffering a chest infection, which has impacted on his training.  Good luck George!  Please take it easy and just get yourself over the finish line in one piece!

JWe are not quite ready to give full information just yet, but I hope lots of you will come along to our evening fundraising event on Saturday 23rd February.  The venue is the beautiful Bonis Hall in Prestbury. 

We are in the process of organising music, food and drink and hope it will be a fun night for everyone.  If you can help in any way, please do get in touch. 

We are also planning on holding a raffle and are now in the process of collecting prizes.  Do you have anything you could donate? Unwanted Christmas gifts? Access to services?  Do you know anyone associated with sport or TV who might donate signed items or event tickets?  

Many thanks to everyone who has already offered items – I will be in touch soon. 

Thank you again for all your help. 

GoFundMe

59 Christmas recovery

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are recovering from the festivities. I know I have a few readers with MS, so I’d like to give you a special mention – I hope you had a restful, stress free Christmas.

I spent Christmas at my brother’s house, where we managed a bit of a family get together …14 of us all together on Christmas Day was just lovely ❤️

It was my birthday on Christmas Eve and I started the day with my niece and nephew, Anna and Zeb for company.

Later, we all met at the brewery, where we had picnic lunch and a good chat about beer!

After a couple of mulled wines in the village social club, we made our way to the annual Christingle service in the village church, before going home and welcoming late arrivals, Connor, Niamh, Sophie, Callum and Odin. 

Christmas Day was full of joy, presents, noise, laughter, food and drink.  The weather was mild and we managed a muddy walk, with Zeb as our guide.  Sophie has been learning the proper way to use trecking poles, so after a quick lesson, I was off! I even had to remove the ferrule protectors and use full “spike mode”!

After this much exertion, a visit to the village pub was needed, then home for more food, more drink and a few rounds of our new favourite game “Werewolf”. 

Thank you Jimmy, Gill, Anna and Zeb for looking after us so well and an extra thank you to Zeb for giving up his bed for me! Thank you also to Glenda, Axel, Fiona, Kyra and Max (honorary family member!) for helping to make this such a lovely Christmas.

My family are all wonderfully supportive of my fundraising efforts and I received various donations from them …they really are an ingenious bunch! (See latest donations and update on my Go Fund Me page for details). 

My amazing children have both cut back on Christmas purchases this year and instead made generous donations to the fund …thank you both for your kindness and for everything you are doing to support me ?

The next fundraiser is the Run Through Victoria Park half marathon on 5th January …Go George Go!

A date for your diaries …

Our evening event will take place on Saturday 23rd February.  We are planning to make this an evening of music, food, drink and fun! A silent auction and raffle are planned and we will also raise funds by making a small ticket charge for entry. 

More info will follow nearer the time, but in the meantime, if you are able to help in any way, please get in touch.  We would also welcome anything you can donate to raffle or auction …unwanted Christmas gifts, bottles, services, vouchers etc.

Fundraising page … GoFundMe

You can find out more about my brother’s brewery here … Swan Brewery 

Werewolf … PlayWerewolf

Details of the half marathon can be found here … Run Through UK 

58 Fundraising update

Well, today has been a wonderful day in terms of fundraising for my treatment. 

Late last night, I spotted a post in one of the HSCT support groups from someone who had HSCT earlier this year, is making an excellent recovery, has some spare cash and wants to use it to help others.  As you can imagine, he had many replies (there are literally hundreds of people from all over the world, trying to raise funds for HSCT).  I added my fundraiser to the responses, thinking if I was lucky, I might receive a couple of quid from this unexpected source.  

I was very pleasantly surprised this morning when I found that this kind person and his wife have donated $225 (£179) into my account.  If he has paid this amount into the accounts of everyone who has responded, I reckon he will have paid out almost $10,000.   What a heart warming and generous thing to do ❤️

I logged in to my fundraising page to thank the kind stranger for his donation and found I had received a message from someone I haven’t seen for many years – a school friend of my brother!  He is running a half marathon in early January and is raising funds for my campaign! What an amazing thing to do! Thank you so much George. 

Later at work I discovered that my manager, rather than buy all the team a small gift for Christmas, has made a donation instead. My lovely work team were in full agreement and I must admit, I had a tear in my eye when I found out ❤️

And to complete this amazing day, I came home to a letter from the tax man informing me that they are giving me a rebate of £63 …not a huge amount I know, but I usually only hear from them when the error is in the other direction! 

I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed recently, at the enormity of the task ahead, but today has given me such a boost and I am feeling optimistic again! 

GoFundMe

We have plenty of other fundraising events coming up …

  • Our evening event is almost confirmed …date to follow.
  • Cal’s head (and chin) shave will take place soon.
  • My mum’s coin and stamp collection is going to the sale room in January.
  • Niamh and Sophie are working on an open water swimming challenge for early Summer.
  • Discussions are ongoing for a sponsored tandem skydive.
  • Glenda is taking part in a sponsored Nordic Walk.
  • Fiona and Kyra are taking part in sponsored running events. 
  • Anna and Zeb have a stall at their school Christmas fair.

38 Half Marathon sponsorship update

On Sunday 14th October, 5 amazing people took part in the Manchester Half Marathon.  For everyone except Nick, this as the first time they had run this distance, so it was a huge challenge.  They all worked so hard to prepare and achieved amazing times when they crossed the line. 

I have finally counted up all the promised sponsorship money for the event and we are delighted to let you know the total raised is …

Thank you so much Heather, Nick, Gleaves, Connor and Niamh …you are amazing! 

Thank you to everyone who sponsored them …every penny is very much appreciated.  I want to give an extra mention to everyone at Stephenson’s Catering Equipment for their kindness and generosity.  

We have a couple of sponsored events coming up in the next few weeks …

Peak District 58 mile mountain bike challenge 

Adam, Connor, Gleaves, Carl and Johnny are in training for this gruelling challenge and we have started to receive sponsorship funds already!  They have had to postpone their original plan to do this on Saturday and we will have a new date very soon.

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Wilmslow Festive 10K

Jess, Jake, Callum and Niamh will be taking part in this event on Sunday 25th November.  Training has begun and I hope to be there to cheer them on, on the day.

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Dry November

My wonderful work friend Julie is planning a dry November and will be collecting sponsorship money for doing so.  Julie’s preparation involves spending the half term holidays drinking a month’s worth of Prosecco! 

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If you would like to sponsor any of the superstars mentioned above, you can do so at the Go Fund Me page linked below or by speaking to them in person.  

Thank you to everyone for your continued support, whether by taking part, by donating or by sharing my story ?

GoFundMe

35 Fundraising news

Well, a couple of days ago, this happened …

100 donations in one month!!  Thank you so much each and every one of you xxx

The sponsorship money from the Manchester Half Marathon is still coming in so I don’t have a total for that just yet. 

Connor, Alex and Gleaves have been out training on their mountain bikes today.

Having said that she’d never run again, Niamh, along with Callum, Jess and Jake, has signed up for the Wilmslow Festive 10K run on 25th November.  She is still resting up to allow her hip injury to heal, then all 4 will be training in earnest!  

We also have some other fundraisers coming together …

My Prosecco loving friend, Julie, is giving up booze for a whole month! 

My niece Fiona has signed up for a 10K and my sister Glenda, for a sponsored Nordic walk event.

My sister in law, Gill is hosting a coffee morning next weekend, including yummy cakes (she is an excellent baker) and a raffle.  

I’d like to hold some sort of cake related event too …I seem to have so many cake making friends!  Maybe some sort of Bake Off or something along those lines?  Or a good old fashioned cake sale? Or something Christmas related?  If anyone has any ideas, please give me a shout.

We are still working on a possible sky dive and a long haired person is considering a drastic hair cut, in exchange for donations …watch this space for more information on that soon!

We are planning an evening event to take place in January.  We have a fabulous venue and plans coming together for music, food, drink, a raffle and a silent auction.  

So, this is my next request for help …

  • Do you have anything you could donate as a raffle prize or silent auction item?
  • Do you own a business and would be able to donate services, a beauty treatment, a meal or anything else we could raffle or auction?
  • Do you have any contacts at venues who could donate event tickets?
  • Do you have a connection to anyone famous who could donate items?
  • Do you have connections with anyone who could help with any of the above? 

If you can help with any of the above, or you have any other ideas for fundraising, please give one of us a shout.

31 Manchester Half Marathon 2018

Yesterday was an amazing day!  We had an early start in order to get over to Trafford Park in time for a quick visit to the portaloos, an even quicker warm up and the start of the 2018 Manchester Half Marathon.  It started drizzling just as we got out of the car and didn’t let up until we were back home several hours later!

The wet weather didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the runners, spectators or organisers and the whole event was really well organised and very enjoyable (from a spectators point of view anyway!).

Nick is a seasoned runner and registered for the event a while ago, meaning he was in starting group B.  The others were all in the final group, group G. 

With 1400 people running, it took 30 minutes for them all to set off from the start line.  I can’t fault the organisers and everything went like clockwork. 

With my fellow supporters (Sophie, Ian and Odin), we managed to find a spot at the 5K point and waited with excitement for our team to appear.  First past was Nick, who was so fast that none of us managed to catch a photo of him!  After a bit of a wait, Connor appeared, looking happy and energetic …

Somehow we missed Gleaves in all the crowds but spotted Niamh and Heather running well together.  They were so excited to have seen us cheering them on that they hugged, which made us smile! 

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(Click link for video)

At this point we decided to head for the finish line, grab a spot and wait. By this time it was raining heavily and the only way we could see the road was to stand in a puddle!  We were about 100 metres before the finish line, so spent the next hour cheering various runners through their last painful steps.  I can’t tell you how much I admire each and every one of the people taking part today.  Just getting round those 13.1 miles in the cold wet conditions is an amazing achievement. There was a great atmosphere amongst the spectators and lots of support for all the runners. 

We all became super excited when Nick suddenly appeared, still looking fresh and running well.  After a bit of a wait, Connor appeared and managed to find a surge of energy as we cheered him on to the finish line.

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(Click link for video)

Next through was Gleaves …we were so relieved, having not seen him at all since the start. He managed a smile and a wave and ran for the line. 

We then waited anxiously for Niamh and Heather. We knew this was a huge challenge for them both …Niamh running with a hip injury and Heather having only started training a month before.  We were overjoyed when we finally spotted them. Both were struggling but looked determined as they ran that final 100 metres and crossed the line hand in hand.  Nick, Connor and Gleaves had joined us by this time, so we gave the girls a big cheer then whizzed round to the meeting area to find them.  

A couple of Niamh’s friends, Lois and Jess, managed to get a spot on the other side of the road a little nearer the finish line so Niamh and Heather got double cheers for the last bit of their run.

After some emotional reunions and tales of pain, tears and amazing support from each other and from fellow runners, we headed home for hot baths and pizza! 

What a fantastic day! Connor, Niamh, Heather, Nick and Gleaves …you were amazing.  I couldn’t be more proud and pleased and so touched by your effort. 

Everyone is struggling a bit today with sore legs and low energy, but I hope the fantastic five are also feeling very proud of themselves …they really should be.

Some numbers …

Nick – 1 hour  37 minutes (he was aiming for under 1 hour 40]

Connor – 1 hour 44 minutes (he was aiming for under 2 hours)

Gleaves – 2 hours 18 minutes

Niamh and Heather – 2 hours 21 minutes (they were aiming for under 2 hours 30)  Continue reading 31 Manchester Half Marathon 2018

23 Fundraising update

Two weeks ago, we launched our fund raising page with the aim of raising £40,000 to fund HSCT treatment abroad.  

www.gofundme.com/another-ms-warrior 

Please could I ask you to think about whether you might know anyone who might be willing to help?  Please share our fundraising page far and wide.  I know of someone in my position who had their treatment paid for in full by a wealthy friend of a friend of a friend who saw the link on social media! 

I am finding fundraising hard going – it really isn’t easy to ask people for money and at times, I have wanted to scrap the idea all together.  I feel incredibly vulnerable and exposed having to be so public about my life.  My children, close family and friends are being wonderfully supportive and are encouraging me to keep going.  To put it bluntly, my only other option is to keep quiet and slowly decline into disability. 

To boost our fundraising efforts, we have a number of events coming up:

1. Manchester Half Marathon, Sunday 14th October 2018

Connor, Niamh, Gleaves, Nick and Heather are training hard for this event and the blisters on Niamh’s feet are almost healed!

2. 58 Mile Peak District Mountain Bike Challenge, Saturday 27th October 2018

Alex, Connor and Gleaves are taking on this gruelling challenge

3. Tandem Sky Dive, date to follow

Callum is organising the opportunity for volunteers to take part in a tandem sky dive and hopefully raise some sponsorship money. We have a growing list of people 

Who would like to do this (possibly including me!) …if you would like to be added to the list, please let me know.  Cost will be around £200.

4. Evening Event, January 2019

This will be an evening of music food, games, raffle, auction and anything else we can think of!  We have a fantastic venue in Prestbury and some great entertainment lined up, including The Red Shells and Beth and the Beats.

If you have anything that you could donate as a raffle prize or auction item, we would be very grateful.

There are further events and sponsored challenges in the pipeline, so watch out for those.  We are also open to further ideas and suggestions. 

If you’d like to sponsor any of the participants taking part in sponsored events, please donate to our GoFundMe page and mention them in your comment.  You can also sponsor individuals by contacting them in person.

If you know of any businesses that may be willing to offer items or services as raffle prizes or auction items, please get in touch with one of us. 

Thank you for all the amazing support …I really do appreciate it xx