Inspirational Runner

Sorry its been a while since my last post. 😦 just a busy boy and its hard to find time to sit down and type up a new blog. I have loads of material just not enough time to put it all into words.

One of the things I have been doing is taking up road running. I have always had a keen intrest in running. I have done a few road races in the past. I did the Lady Godiva half marathon back in 2008 and the Two Castle 10km in 2009, so its been a while since I did a road race. But now that I am feeling loads fitter than I have been in, possibly my life, I am ready for another one.

I have been finding it hard to find time to train. If its not the weather it’s other commitments that keep me off the road. I am still getting plenty of exercise in other ways, be it walking, circuit training or loads of swimming. My problem is I would much rather swim than run. So I am swimming fit and not running fit. My friends think this is an odd concept. If your fit your fit and you can do anything. When it comes to physical things this is not true at all. You have to train your body to breath differently and your muscles need to learn to move in a different way. So you might be able to walk 10km without any issues but run it that’s another story.

But mental fitness now there is an exception to the rule I feel. You can put your mind to anything. Be it running 10km or 100km. Yes you need to put in as much mental effort into your physical preparations. But your mental fitness will be just as strong if you can ace one achievement you can do any other. You need to be able to believe in yourself and remain focused on the end goal. I believe these are the two key part of the mental fitness. Your breathing and working the muscle groups of your mental fitness if you would.

I have the mental bit sorted. Hell this week I have swam over 15km (9miles ) and swimming that type of distance (2 miles of there about each day ) takes a fair bit of focus. Yes I know I could have used that time to get some road running in. But I did have the Manchester Aquatic Centre to swim in so how could I not ? Love it, great place. So many focused people training there.

So I know I can do it. No doubt that I can. Mentally I am prepped and ready to go. Physically mmmm well I know I can do 5km without too much fuss in around 30 mins. But I do need to do more running. So next week I am in a different part of the country so it will be a running week for me.

So I have a goal. Be running fit by the 9th of June to run the 10km between Warwick Castle and Kenilworth Castle.

But why ?

People have loads of reason for doing all manor of challenges. Some it’s for the glory, for others it’s the personal achievement of just saying ” I did that!” For me it’s the “I did that!”

But …….

There is always a but here.

Loads and loads of people run for a charity. It’s a great gesture to give back to something you believe in or wish to support. And I am no different on this one. I already donate loads to charity, but this time I am putting me on the line in the hope that others will be inspired to donate to my cause. So I will be running for the Terrance Higgins Trust. (THT)

Supporting THT

Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing a wide range of services to more than 100,000 people a year. The charity also campaigns and lobbies for greater political and public understanding of the personal, social and medical impact of HIV and sexual ill health. You can find out more about this charity here.

Why have I chosen THT ? I don’t have HIV but I have friends who ether have HIV or have loved ones who do in their lives. Back in 2008 I was fortunate to be part of a non profit organisation called North Star Foundation ( now called North Star Alliance ) My function within North Star was to project manage the setting up of road side wellness centres in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia. Other members of the team were setting up centres in East Africa at the time. Now they are all over Africa. These wellness centres provide long haul truck drivers, sexual workers and the community they operate in a free place to go to so that they can get sex education, HIV awareness and basic health care.

North Star Alliance

However while I was on assignment in Africa with North Star I could not help notice how much awareness and education there was for HIV and sexual transmitted infections. Quite often I felt I was in the wrong country and that I should be in the UK aiding the awareness of infections. The UK has no where near the amount of awareness that I have seen in Africa. We very seldom hear or see anything STI’s in the media here in the UK. Its quite a worry really and its for this reason I feel quite strongly that charities like THT should be supported so they can have the funding to be as affective as they possibly can be.

So please click on the Supporting Terrance Higgins Trust image to take you to my Just Giving page so you can donate towards this great charity and support me on my 10km run for them. Or you can just click here. 

You can also read about my African Adventure blog that I did while I was with North Star in southern Africa by clicking here.