So having completed a leap year without alcohol what’s next?
I started running back in June 2012 after Jason Vale’s Juice Academy left me feeling super juiced. I came home so inspired that I signed up to do the Great South Run even though I hadn’t run a single step in years.
Although I always found running boring, when I was a kid I watched my Dad complete the Southampton half marathon and always had a desire to follow in his footsteps. A long distance run or marathon was on my bucket list since before I even heard the term bucket list, and it jumped up that list to become a short term challenge for which I gave myself approx 4 months to train.
It surprised me as much as anyone, but not only did I complete the Great South Run, I also completed a challenge to run 500 miles before the end of 2012 (approx 6 months), the Apperley Quarter Marathon, the VERY muddy The Grim Original, a Santa Fun run and a few Facebook FiveKs. I think I’ve caught the running bug and this year I am upping the ante!
2013 miles in 2013
My self imposed challenge this year is to complete 2013 self powered miles by the end of 2013. My rules are quite simple:
- All miles must be completely self powered (no motors, sails, etc)
- I must be able to evidence all miles, either via GPS or with a picture of any static gym equipment
To complete my 2013 miles I will be running, cycling, rowing and who knows, I might even try a few other self powered vehicles along the way.
I need to average just over 5.5 miles (9 km) per day to hit my target. I ran just over 670 miles in 6 and a half months in 2012, so this is a big step up. It is not going to be easy, but hey, it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was!
As part of this challenge I am planning a few races and have already signed up for 2 half marathons in March, a full 26.2 miles marathon in May and a return trip to the Great South Run.
My Dad did his run for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and 2013 marks 15 years since he passed away and 10 years since Adam, my cousin’s son who was born with CF lost his fight.
I have been surprised since I started fundraising for the CF Trust just how many people are unaware of this disease and so I hope my efforts will not just raise money, but also awareness of the UK’s most most common life-threatening inherited disease.
