Some of you will know that last Saturday (15th October) I set out to run 50 miles (82km) to raise money for the Youth Association to buy outdoor and camping equipment, so that we can give many more young people the chance to take to the hills and have fun in tents. I was taking part in the annual Rowbotham’s Round Rotherham ultramarathon race and I was hoping to raise £1,000.
I’m pleased to report that I survived the experience and I did manage to complete the course. About 340 competitors started the race, but only 264 finished the whole 50 miles. I crossed the finishing line in 9 hours and 51 minutes, and that was good enough to claim 79th place; not bad, considering that runners had travelled from all over Britain and Europe to compete and there were lots of serious athletes taking part. As you can see from the picture, I felt OK at the end of the run, but over night and all throughout the next day my legs were useless and just getting round the house was a bit of a challenge! Happily, it’s now 6 days since the run and I’m fully recovered. I fact, I think that tomorrow I’ll head out for a gentle 12 mile run, just to see if all the strength has returned to my legs.
The good news is that we have achieved our fundraising target. At the moment, we have raised nearly £1,200 and that could go up a bit in the next few days, when we count up the money raised by text donations. If you donated or sponsored me, I would like to thank you so much for being kind, generous and beautiful people. If you haven’t then you still have time by visiting my Justgiving page, or by texting ADCD19 £2 to 70070. If you want to read what it was like to run that far, then you can find out what I thought about it on my blog page. Look out for our report in the next few weeks about how we will be working with a group of young people to go out and spend all of that cash on some shiny new kit.
Andy
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