One of our landlords has decided to run the Chester Marathon in aid of our charity of the year – Oxfordshire Air Ambulance.
“As we’re in the middle of a recession, I was concerned that people would not be rushing to dig in their pocket to sponsor, so I thought I’d better make it worth their while. My plan this year, therefore, has been to do four events in support of the FK charity of the year:
1) 15th May Great Manchester Run 10k
2) 4th June Otmoor Challenge Half Marathon
3) 2nd July Birmingham & Black Country Half Marathon
4) 9th October Chester Marathon
I suffer from a slight hindrance, in that I never actually get around to doing any training because I really, really hate running!
In May, the course for the Great Manchester Run was in a loop, which meant that as I was reaching 3k I could see Haile Gebresalassie was on the home stretch!
In June, I decided to take a photo of myself before the race with the winner’s trophy at the Otmoor Challenge as I knew my chances weren’t great. In fact I came LAST. Most people had got their medal, had a drink & a snack, showered & were driving home before I got back, and they all waved cheerily and honked their horns as they drove past me on their way home. Just shows you how much I love Finders Keepers to go through such humiliation!
As I didn’t feel I was making any headway with actual training AND had got really chubby over the holidays so I decided to dig out my "running" (ho ho) shoes from under the bed and enter the Great North Run (I don't know if you have ever thought of doing a Great Run, but it is an amazing experience and even for a reluctant runner like me it is brilliant fun). To be there on the day, crossing the iconic Tyne Bridge with crowds of well-wishers waving, calling encouragement and sometimes even offering Jelly Babies is an experience I would recommend even to the most determined couch potato.
I had my usual difficulty of not recognising any of the stars of the soaps but everyone I met was lovely and surprisingly willing to pose for a photo. Amongst various recognisable faces, I met: Nell McAndrew, aka Batwoman, (Photo 1) who is a regular at the GNR and endlessly patient with people like me wanting a photo with her and GB runner Mo Farah (Photo 2) who fired the gun to start the Run (and who on Saturday won the 2 mile race in the Great City Games in a time of 08.37.72).
Photo 3 is me with Mark Allison, who ran across America in aid of The Children’s Foundation and St Benedict’s Hospice, and Photo 4 is with Alan Hinkes who was the first Briton to climb the world's 14 peaks over 8000m.
The chap from the Red Arrows kindly let me grab him for a photo as he was trying to eat his lunch! It was a very poignant day for them as the widow of one of the team was running in her husband's memory. I felt really choked as I rounded the corner at the 12 mile point just in time to see the Red Arrows wonderful display swooping and curling above the crashing waves and dramatic cliffs of the South Shields coastline, as if they were escorting me home to the finishing line.
I also met Geoffrey Beattie, TV psychologist whom I met very glamorously at the VIP Portaloos before the race. His son (who did a fabulous 1hr 12mins) took the photo. After the race he said he would always remember my advice: picturing the whole of the second half of the race as one long climb apparently really helped! Perhaps a whole new career in motivational psychology beckons..?
As for the race itself - all I can say is 26.2 miles seems a LONG WAY more than 13.1! Luckily my daughter Katie is doing the marathon with me. Photo 6 shows us with our medals from the Birmingham & Black Country Half Marathon we did way back in June together. She reckoned having one's name on the T-Shirt could only be A Good Thing and it was certainly a huge boost this weekend to have random voices in the crowd shout "Come on Patricia - you're doing well!". Aren't people nice?
Oh - and The Man with the Fridge (Photo 5) ran the whole way with a real, actual fridge on his back. Worst thing was he kept overtaking me!
So - all that remains now is to focus and NOT PANIC AT ALL. I've joined a gym at last because I really don't want to get stranded in the middle of the Chester suburbs unable to move my legs or lift a finger to phone for help! With only two weeks to go now, I've changed my webpage quite a bit: there's less boring text and more desperate begging! Owing to some extraordinarily generous and unexpected donations to the fund, I have very nearly reached my target of raising £2,000 towards my latest ill-conceived plan of running a marathon in aid of the Air Ambulance.
To those who have already given – a massive thank you! If you wish to save me from a painful death-by-jogging, please visit my page and make a donation.
If nothing else, please take a look and leave me a message: https://www.justgiving.com/patricialee2011”
Patricia Lee – 28th September
Although the marathon was meant to be Patricia's last 'run' of the year, she actually went on to take part in the Great Ethiopia Run in Addis Ababa at the end of November (which is where she met Sally Gunnell, see photograph to the right).
Patricia Lee has raised an incredible £3,250 for Air Ambulance this year. We appreciate her support, as do BOB Air Ambulance. Her JustGiving page is now closed, but you can still donate directly to Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance
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