50 Wilmslow Festive 10K (and Blue Badge trial run!)

Today was the day of the Wilmslow Festive 10K.  Unfortunately I wasn’t well enough to go and cheer the team on and to be official photographer, but they managed to get one or two pictures of their own, after their run.  Other photos are from the Run North West official Instagram page. 

Run North West

There was the usual chaos and crowds before the start with Niamh and Cal unable to find Jake and Jess.  Jake’s brother and his fiend were also running today, but I don’t think they all managed to get together until after they had finished. 

It’s been very cold here recently and today was no exception but it was also bright and dry, so perhaps good conditions for running (says someone with no knowledge at all of what constitutes good conditions for running!).

Niamh continues to struggle with her hip injury, which has impacted on her training and flared up again this morning.  She is a little disappointed in her time of 1 hour and 5 seconds and I think she’ll be giving running a miss for a while now (she is however, talking about some sort of swimming challenge and a coast to coast walk, so there really is no stopping her!).  

I haven’t heard the times for the others yet but have heard that winner of the women’s race, Eilish McColgan achieved a new course record of 32:40 (perhaps I was right about the running conditions after all?!) .

The guys have collected their medals and headed home for a well earned rest, some warmth and a Sunday dinner! 

Well done all of you …absolute superstars ❤️❤️❤️❤️

In other news, my Blue Badge arrived in the post on Friday and I manage to give it a test run on Saturday. 

I met up with my lovely friends Brenda and Karen and we all squashed into my little car and headed off to the Christmas Makers Market at The Lowry.  It took a lot longer than planned to get there (the Mancunian Way is definitely to be avoided at this time of year!) and we were a little confused by the disabled parking arrangements, but managed to suss it out.  We received a top tip from the parking attendant – keep a photo on your phone of your Blue Badge – and may even look as if we know what we are doing next time! 

We had a lovely couple of hours looking round the market (although our total purchases for the day amounted to a loaf of artisan bread and a bobble hat – I don’t think we are quite committed to Christmas yet!).  I have been feeling a bit rubbish lately but found an afternoon with good friends really lifted my spirits …thank you, you two ❤️

Another thing I learnt was that if you try to eat a crepe with melted white chocolate, whilst standing up, holding a bag and a walking stick, when you’re feeling a bit wobbly, you will end up with melted white chocolate all over you! 

We returned to the car park and realised we had been so focussed on sorting out the parking ticket (which was lost for about 10 minutes) and the Blue Badge, that none of us remembered where we had parked the car!  So there we were, 3 supposedly intelligent women (all teachers!) with no sense of direction, spacial awareness or memory between us! 

Julie is still doing well on her alcohol free November challenge …not long to go now Julie! ?

I’ll update you on other plans soon xx

GoFundMe

42 Fundraising events

Well our fundraising page has been up and running for 6 weeks now and this is the grand total you have all helped to raise …

Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be this successful and it has warmed this old heart so much to see such kindness.  I am grateful for every penny donated and am particularly touched by donations from people who don’t even know me and from friends who I know don’t have a lot.  I am aware that many of us  are living in financially challenging times, so fully understand that not everyone can (or wants) to contribute ?

From the start, we wanted to make sure that we were doing things to earn your contributions, rather than simply crowdfunding.  All of these events need a lot of thought and organisation  – not easy when you have a full time job, a busy life and wobbly legs as well as brain fog and fatigue!  I really appreciate all offers of practical help and couldn’t have got this far without family and friends sacrificing their time ..thank you all ?

Here is an update on events still to come …

Christmas Second Hand Toy Sale

My nieces, Kyra and Fiona, have gathered up everything they can find in their bedrooms and hidden away in the cellar and are preparing to sell it at an organised event this Saturday.  They live near Cologne in Germany, so if you’re near there and want to know where the sale is, get in touch!

Dry November 

My fabulous friend, has volunteered to have an alcohol free November.  As you can see, Julie is the cocktail queen of Stockport, so this is a big sacrifice for her! 

Although it’s not yet November, Julie has already started her ‘go dry’ challenge and has managed a fun night out on soda water alone! 

If you know Julie and would like to sponsor her, please see her in person.  

If anyone else would like to encourage Julie with a small donation, you can do so via our GoFundMe page (link below). 

Disclaimer: Julie is actually very sensible and does not have a drink problem ?

Wilmslow Festive 10K

Niamh, Callum, Jess and Jake will be taking part in this event on Sunday 25th November. Training has begun and thankfully, Niamh’s hip seems to be holding up! 

Head and Chin shave 

Callum will be succumbing to the scissors in early December.

Evening Event

We are still in the planning stages for this but are hoping as many people as possible will come along a support us and have a fun evening of music, food and drink.  We already have visitors travelling from the Isle of Man and from Germany to attend!  Date to follow …

Peak District Mountain Bike Challenge

The five cycling lads have had a couple of set backs and are now running out of daylight!  They have decided to follow advice and delay their cycling challenge until March of next year.  This is because they have worked out that the ride will take 12-14 hours and for safety reasons (and to preserve my nerves) it would be better to not be doing some of it in the dark! 

They plan to spend the next few months getting in as many training miles as possible. 

As you can see in the photo above, they were out on the Peaks on Sunday, with Connor filming part of their route using a helmet camera …I’ll upload some footage from this when I’ve worked out how to! 

Tandem Sky Dive

More information to follow when we have it.

we are still open to ideas and offers of help, so please get in touch if you have any ?

GoFundMe

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