Running for charity

EDITORS NOTE
If you watched the video you will know doubt make you own assumptions of what it means, my personal interpretation of the video is that it's starts with people holding empty picture frames which are then filled with pictures of loved ones who I assume have since past, the frames initial emptiness and the looks on their faces tell it's own story, the guy holding a childs baseball cap and the sadness in the young girls eyes, can only mean one thing. However the video ends with a smiling child holding an empty picture frame, he lies back looks to the sky, he can only imagine. There is nothing greater than the imagination of a child.

OK so let's get back to the woman in our story, as I said this could be happening all over the world right now, it could even be happening to you or someone one you know. On this occasion it was happening to my stepsister, she lived just a few miles away, before her diagnosis we probably only saw each other as little as two or three times a year.

She now had breast cancer, but she simply shrugged it off as an inconvenience, she had a mastectomy, she had Chemo, she lost her hair and wore a silly hat, she continued to be a positive fun loving Mum and Grandmother, and at the age of 52 she was now one of thousands of other women and a handful of men fighting Breast Cancer, each with there own circumstances all suffering the same illness but each one entirely different.
("we can only imagine").

Despite being made aware that she had breast cancer, I still only saw her a few times, I would see her in her silly woollen hat when I popped round to my Mum's house to see how my Stepfather was coping since my Mum died just a few month earlier, she lived just across the road from my Mum's, we had become a little closer when my Mum died, but we just got on with our own lives.

Just before Christmas in December 2008 my stepsister was told that the Mastectomy had failed and the cancer had now spread to her liver, she was more or less told that she was now officially terminally ill. As a family we all continued to get on with our lives.

A few months later I sat down to watch the 2009 London Marathon, as I had done since it first started, I said what I always said "I can do that", but actually never did. But this time I had a reason I was 49 years old I had never run an official Marathon, despite being a former serviceman for over 23 years and being physically fit (so to speak), I had never run 26.2 miles with thousands of other people in the worlds most popular Marathon. I would be 50 years old in January 2010 if that wasn't an excuse in itself, I thought if I don't make the effort this time then I never will.

So on the 27-28 of April 2009 I sat at my computer waiting to register and sucessfully submit my application for the public ballot, (you are not automatically guaranteed a place and you don't find out until October if you have or if you have not been successful). My thoughts then turned to my stepsister, as I searched through the list of charities I could represent, was I going to be running for myself or for someone else?.

"BREAST CANCER CARE" was my immediate choice, as I thought to myself, "there is nothing I can do to cure my Stepsister, but I can help to raise money for a charity that offers immediate support for Women just like her". The women who are at this moment in time walking away from the consultats office haveing just been given the news, (once again I can only imagine) Breast Cancer Care offers emotional and practical supportthat these women need. to find out more CLICK HERE

With the application submitted my thoughts now turn to the training, I will have to complete a half marathon before I attempt the full 26.2 miles.

So in May 2009 I secured my place in the Great North Run, the worlds biggest half marathon, which was taking place on Sunday 20th Sep 2009. This would give me a reason to get out there and start training, for the Marathon, which was just under a year away, so I wanted to be ready.

This would also be a great way to motivate myself, while at the same time remind me that running long distances requires the right state of mind. also give me a chance to raise money for charity. Although I was not guaranteed to get a place in the London Marathon, I wanted people to see that I was serious about my challenge, more importantly I need to convince myself.

My intention was not just to finish the London Marathon, but to finish in the best possible time, I wanted to be FAST @ 50 not just some guy giving it a try for the first time.

I had just witnessed the fantastic achievement of Major Phil who had lost both his legs in an explosion in Basra less than a year ago, valiantly crossing the line and raise over 1 million pounds for charity. I was going to be running for Breast Cancer Care I was running for my stepsister and the thousands like her, but I was also running for myself, so I gave myself a challenge. If a man with no legs can find the courage to even attempt a marathon let alone finish it, and raise over 1 million pounds in the process, what can a man with both legs achieve?.

On the 2nd of June 2009 my stepsister lost her fight with cancer, she died just three days before her 53rd Birthday, less than six months after receiving the news that she was officially terminally ill, the twelve months they had predicted was far less. I never got to tell her I was running for Breast Cancer Care, I never got to tell her that she actually helped movtivate me to run, even though It was something I had always planned to do before I reached the end of my 50th year, something I have wanted to do since the London Marathon started way back in 1981.

I believe that if I had taken an opportunity to tell her she would have said "don't run for me you soft sod, run for yourself". My goal now is to be FAST @ 50.

Now I had a real challenge, not only was I going to run the London Marathon and raise money for charity, my challenge was to continue to run Marathons throughout my 50th decade, and possibly beyond. Running in London New York & Paris Marathons. Therefore being able to say I am FAST @ 50, Fit and Still Training at 50. In addition to this, the real challenge being, to encourage others, who like myself had never yet run a marathon, those of you who are perhaps reading this who are about to reach that point of what some term as the mid life crisis point, and look back and think what have I done with my life. Those of you who when you where approaching your late 40's said I will run a marathon before I reach my 40th birthday but never did, those of you who are able-bodied, and currently have no desire to run, while at the same time have no real excuse not to. Don't wait for an excuse, don't wait for that rabid dog to jump up and bite you before you decide to run. BECOME FAST AT 50 NOW!

Run for chartity, but above all run for yourself.

The day had come the first stage of training was over, it was 6.30am on a September morning when we boarded the coach with other runners to take us to the starting Area, it was a cold bright morning with clear blue skies, it was going to be a scorching September day, even for British UK weather standards, it was going to be a hot day (and yes it was). I arrived at the assembly point along with thousands of people.

It seemed like I'd been there for hours before I lined up in my designated pen along with over 50,000 other runners, there where clearly those who had done this before and those just like me apprehensive and eager for the event to start. We all saw on the big screen as the elite runners set off, soon it will be our turn to go as each segment slowly moved towards the start line, the thought of will I make it, will my old knees hold out, did I do enough training, constantly running though my mind. When I finally reached the official start point 21 mins had already passed, finally I was off. There was just a sea of people in front and behind me, crossing the iconic Tyne Bridge was amazing, my training had paid off, I felt great all the way round the course. I only wished I hadn't underestimated my finishing time when I submitted my application.

The bottleneck towards the end was immense, at one point I found myself weaving through some of the spectators, in a bid to avoid those who thought it was a good time to now walk. The final 3 miles was in sight my personal target for this run was anything under two hours, as I approached the finish clock I could see that it said 2 hrs 18 min, there was 20mins already on the clock before I stared, I was going to make it but the sheer number of people in front of you meant that you simply could not fight your way through. My official time was 2hrs 9mins I was satisfied with that, and it was a good experience in preparation for the big one. Next time I will start further down the field, to hopefully avoid the walkers.

October soon arrived and like thousands of other London Marathon hopefuls, I was eagerly waiting for news of the ballot, the big envelope arrived, that feeling you get of anxiousness flowing through my body, will all my training so far be in vain as I opened the package I saw the word "COMMISERATIONS" followed by "Your Ballot Application to Run The 2010 Virgin London Marathon Has Been Unsuccessful. I was devastated, my chance to run in the worlds most popular marathon at the age of 50 had gone. I sat quietly for a while to collect my thoughts, If I was meant to run then I would have had a place, it's just one of those things, (that's what we tell ourselves after a disappointment).

One of the most difficult tasks charities face is competing for support, there are so many that need our help, they all do great things and without them many people worldwide will continue to suffer. Perhaps one day there may well be a cure for cancer, but today it still is one of those illnesses that comes in many forms, it does not discriminate where age is concerned, from newborn to old age we could all fall victim to It's devastating power. My plea is simply not for you to just dig deep and give to a cancer charity, nor will running a marathon cure you of cancer, but being fit and active can help you play a more active roll in everything you do. We are constantly being reminded that we are slowly becoming an obese nation, my plea is this.. if you are not contributing to your own well-being, and you have no real excuse not to, then make the effort and become FAST @ 50.

I am just an ordinary guy doing my bit to raise money for a charity, if you can support me by giving a little then I would really appreciate it, but my biggest reward would be that you have been inspired to commit to your own challenge.

I started this lens by focusing on the word imagine, if you are currently able-bodied, by that I mean you can walk breath normally don't suffer any ill health apart from the old cold or flu now and again, them imagine what your life will be like if you give yourself a real challenge, one that requires you to endure a little physical pain, the pain of running long distances does not last forever, but the good feeling you get inside afterwards will, especially if you run for a charity, you will feel good about YOU!

EDITORS NOTE
Come on Guys/Ladies, are you proud to be 50, then why not start your own FAST@50 Challenge and raise money for your favourite charity, pulling on the shirt is your first step, whether you do it physically buy buying one or mentally by taking action. It will be a great step forward to a better life style, which can be so rewarding in many ways. Buying a tee shirt from our Zazzle Store will also go someway to helping women with Breast Cancer, simply because the 10% profit made on the sale of all the goods in the FAST@50 store get's donated to my chosen charity "Breast Cancer Care". So not only will you be helping raise the profile of what it means to be FAST@50 you will already be raising money for charity before you put your shirt over your head. These are just some of the garments available in our Zazzle Store. So why not spread the word and be FAST@50

Ladies Destroyed T-Shirt (Front View)

Ladies Destroyed T-Shirt (Back View)

Ladies Tank Top (Fitted) (Front View)

Ladies Tank Top (Fitted) (Back View)

EDUN LIVE Adam Essential Tee (Front View)

EDUN LIVE Adam Essential Tee (Back View)

American Apparel Long Sleeve (Fitted)

American Apparel Long Sleeve (Back View)