Well, that's it then! It's done! After all those months of training and fundraising, and the excitement, anxiety, despair and joy that accompanied them, the twomarathons project is officially accomplished! I've run the two marathons and I've reached my fundraising targets. Now there are just the loose ends to tie up, with lots of "thankyous" to send and a few donations still to collect. It's a strange feeling, this mixture of achievement, gratitude, relief, and bereavement.
The London Marathon has a great reputation; everybody says what an amazing thing it is, to the extent that it feels churlish not to agree. Of course, the organisation is impeccable, the support of the crowds is brilliant, and running past (or over) landmarks such as Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace is an unforgettable experience. However, it isn't only the supporters who are there in crowds. With 35,000 participants, the course itself is pretty packed! Faster runners can escape from this within a few miles, but for me it was a feature of just about the whole marathon. I'd love to know how many miles I actually did cover, including all the dodging and weaving!
All of this pales in significance when compared with the fact that I did finish, all be it in a rather slower time (4:41:29) than Bungay (4:18:24). Passing over the finish line, receiving my medal and goodie bag, and all the other parts of the process which I'd heard and read so much about (having my timing chip taken off my shoe, collecting my kit bag from the lorries...) were quite dream-like. Perhaps when the official photo appears (this is meant to become available later today) I will really believe it all happened!
This week's heartfelt thanks go to Helen, Bella, Simon, Gareth, Steven, WPF Therapy and the Poplar community, for their support at the start, around the course, and at the finish; to all the Kensington community for the hero's welcome on my return; and to the many, many people who supported from a distance! Just imagine, I might be able to talk and think about something else now!
With the last donations trickling in, the totals currently exceed £2,600 for each charity! The Justgiving pages remain live for three months after the events (until 19th and 26th July, in other words), and of course I can forward donations directly to the charities, so if you feel like boosting the figures, naturally I would be delighted! I will post the final totals once I have them, but otherwise, it's goodbye! Most importantly, it's also "thankyou", for your interest, for your generosity, for everything that has made it possible for me to complete this project successfully. THANKYOU!!!
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Thursday, 23 April 2009
One down, one to go!
No, it hasn't taken me four days to be fit enough to sit at a computer and type! The silence since Sunday has actually been quite marathon-unconnected, due to being fully occupied as a London tour-guide for Ági and her mum. This was an ideal post-marathon activity, keeping me moving without being too intense. So I am happy to say that walking and bending (and particularly standing up and sitting down!) are now considerably easier than 72 hours ago!
What can I say about the Bungay Black Dog Marathon? That it was great, that it was torture; that it was exciting, that it was tedious; that it was inspiring, that it hurt; that crossing the finish line is a moment I'll never forget? Yes, all of these. But what of this kaleidoscope of images, experiences and emotions can I convey to you in a blog post?
Firstly, staying at All Hallows was a perfect preparation. As well as having every material need fully met, the calming and spiritually nourishing environment really made me ready for the challenge of the big day! Next, I can highly recommend the Bungay Black Dog for anybody considering running a marathon. With 250 participants this year, there was plenty of company and brilliant organisation, but the scale allowed for ingenious systems such as being able to grab your personal bottle of Lucozade from the hand of a marshal at any of the water stations! The route also takes in some exceptionally beautiful Suffolk and Norfolk countryside. Finally, I have to mention that I got round in a shorter time than I ever thought possible, and with no murmurs from that pesky knee problem! This is not to say it was an easy run. For most of the first lap (half the course) I had a tight, painful hamstring. This did eventually go off, but probably only because it was masked by increasing complaints from my quads! I also felt faintly nauseous most of the time, so struggled to take in enough calories (from Lucozade and sweets) to keep my energy levels high. By the end I felt that I was hardly lifting my feet at all - barely running. It's true I did slow down, but not nearly as much as that impression led me to believe; the second lap took me around 20 minutes longer than the first.
It was the support of so many people that enabled me to achieve what I did. A huge "thankyou" must go to John, who popped up on his bike from time to time and pedalled along beside me. The company, as well as the anticipation of it (arriving as it did at unpredictable moments), helped me to keep plodding on when all I wanted to do was stop - or at least walk for a while! And the "welcoming committee" of my mum and Helen had to be seen to be believed. The other spectators were quite taken aback by the volume of the cheers and shouts, if their expressions were anything to go by! Helen was also a complete star in providing me with soothing bath, restorative supper, comfortable bed, and a hundred other pieces of thoughtful attention.
The thoughts of "Oh no, I've got to do that again next Sunday" which nudged my consciousness in the hours following Bungay have faded amazingly quickly; for the first time in months I'm actually looking forward to running! Of course I will be stiffer and more tired, the course will be more crowded and there will be more litter to dodge, but however long it takes me, I think I can be optimistic about finishing.
One final "thankyou" has to be for all the prayers for me in this venture; I have been amazingly blessed in the past week. I don't understand prayer, but I'm sure this shower of blessings must somehow stem from it. I could never have achieved what I did from my own powers.
What can I say about the Bungay Black Dog Marathon? That it was great, that it was torture; that it was exciting, that it was tedious; that it was inspiring, that it hurt; that crossing the finish line is a moment I'll never forget? Yes, all of these. But what of this kaleidoscope of images, experiences and emotions can I convey to you in a blog post?
Firstly, staying at All Hallows was a perfect preparation. As well as having every material need fully met, the calming and spiritually nourishing environment really made me ready for the challenge of the big day! Next, I can highly recommend the Bungay Black Dog for anybody considering running a marathon. With 250 participants this year, there was plenty of company and brilliant organisation, but the scale allowed for ingenious systems such as being able to grab your personal bottle of Lucozade from the hand of a marshal at any of the water stations! The route also takes in some exceptionally beautiful Suffolk and Norfolk countryside. Finally, I have to mention that I got round in a shorter time than I ever thought possible, and with no murmurs from that pesky knee problem! This is not to say it was an easy run. For most of the first lap (half the course) I had a tight, painful hamstring. This did eventually go off, but probably only because it was masked by increasing complaints from my quads! I also felt faintly nauseous most of the time, so struggled to take in enough calories (from Lucozade and sweets) to keep my energy levels high. By the end I felt that I was hardly lifting my feet at all - barely running. It's true I did slow down, but not nearly as much as that impression led me to believe; the second lap took me around 20 minutes longer than the first.
It was the support of so many people that enabled me to achieve what I did. A huge "thankyou" must go to John, who popped up on his bike from time to time and pedalled along beside me. The company, as well as the anticipation of it (arriving as it did at unpredictable moments), helped me to keep plodding on when all I wanted to do was stop - or at least walk for a while! And the "welcoming committee" of my mum and Helen had to be seen to be believed. The other spectators were quite taken aback by the volume of the cheers and shouts, if their expressions were anything to go by! Helen was also a complete star in providing me with soothing bath, restorative supper, comfortable bed, and a hundred other pieces of thoughtful attention.
The thoughts of "Oh no, I've got to do that again next Sunday" which nudged my consciousness in the hours following Bungay have faded amazingly quickly; for the first time in months I'm actually looking forward to running! Of course I will be stiffer and more tired, the course will be more crowded and there will be more litter to dodge, but however long it takes me, I think I can be optimistic about finishing.
One final "thankyou" has to be for all the prayers for me in this venture; I have been amazingly blessed in the past week. I don't understand prayer, but I'm sure this shower of blessings must somehow stem from it. I could never have achieved what I did from my own powers.
Thursday, 16 April 2009
The countdown continues!
"This time in two weeks I'll be running" has become "ten days", and now... "three days", accompanied by the stirrings of a rabble of internal butterflies. The internet suggests a surprisingly extensive range of collective nouns for butterflies. I think I like "rabble" best mainly because it seems so incongruous, but also because the description will probably fit my abdominal sensations quite accurately by Sunday morning. Knowing that nerves won't help anything, and that they use much-needed energy, isn't doing a lot to diminish them so far!
Am I ready? That's what I keep asking myself. Well, there are certainly some jobs still to be done before setting off, mainly in terms of assembling the kit, food and information I will need for the 30 hours or so between leaving Kensington and finishing the marathon. I'll stay Saturday night at All Hallows Convent, Ditchingham, which has three retreat/guest houses. This should allow me to prepare physically and mentally, as long as I've remembered everything I need!
Maybe there is just too much guidance available for marathon runners nowadays. It seems every eventuality has to be considered and planned for, whether that concerns nutrition, hydration, temperature, comfort, or 101 other areas. A couple of days ago I found myself watching a video clip telling me how many grammes of carbohydrate I am likely to need for each mile of running, and how this can be translated into the ideal pre-race breakfast. It's very easy to be sucked into that scientific (or quasi-scientific) approach: to feel that any neglect of such matters is a sure route to failure, with only oneself to blame. But then I remember completing the "Cleveland Classic" walk - 56 miles in under 20 hours. The sum total of my preparation was a 28 mile walk a week before. Admittedly I made lots of mistakes and suffered as a result, but I made the distance, despite plenty of moments when I thought it was impossible to walk more than one more stride. Or I think of cycling and walking trips with Mum, when we found ourselves halfway up a mountain and wondered if we'd bitten off more than we could chew, or when we carried on several hours past the point of exhaustion with only an apple turnover to sustain us. The limits of human endurance are constantly surprising. Maybe getting round 26 miles isn't such a big deal after all. Hooray! No more butterflies!
Am I ready? That's what I keep asking myself. Well, there are certainly some jobs still to be done before setting off, mainly in terms of assembling the kit, food and information I will need for the 30 hours or so between leaving Kensington and finishing the marathon. I'll stay Saturday night at All Hallows Convent, Ditchingham, which has three retreat/guest houses. This should allow me to prepare physically and mentally, as long as I've remembered everything I need!
Maybe there is just too much guidance available for marathon runners nowadays. It seems every eventuality has to be considered and planned for, whether that concerns nutrition, hydration, temperature, comfort, or 101 other areas. A couple of days ago I found myself watching a video clip telling me how many grammes of carbohydrate I am likely to need for each mile of running, and how this can be translated into the ideal pre-race breakfast. It's very easy to be sucked into that scientific (or quasi-scientific) approach: to feel that any neglect of such matters is a sure route to failure, with only oneself to blame. But then I remember completing the "Cleveland Classic" walk - 56 miles in under 20 hours. The sum total of my preparation was a 28 mile walk a week before. Admittedly I made lots of mistakes and suffered as a result, but I made the distance, despite plenty of moments when I thought it was impossible to walk more than one more stride. Or I think of cycling and walking trips with Mum, when we found ourselves halfway up a mountain and wondered if we'd bitten off more than we could chew, or when we carried on several hours past the point of exhaustion with only an apple turnover to sustain us. The limits of human endurance are constantly surprising. Maybe getting round 26 miles isn't such a big deal after all. Hooray! No more butterflies!
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
What does RTU do? - 7. Health Programme
Over the past six months my awareness that health is not something to take for granted has grown sharply, due to Dad's heart attack and my knee problem. In the midst of some stressful and difficult times, I have reflected very often on our good fortune in access to health care. Dad was on the receiving end of a huge amount of clinical expertise; combined with the availability of exceptionally sophisticated equipment, this gave him the best care imaginable. For my very much smaller problem, I had rapid access to a doctor and a physiotherapist. We would be outraged if this were not the case. Yet there are so many places in the world where even the most basic of health care is sparse or absent.
Health care has long been part of RTU's work. Around 150 people visit the main clinic each morning, receiving free consultations and medication. In the afternoon, a mobile clinic serves the more remote areas where there is no other access to medical care. A further 50 people can be treated each day. As well as dealing with illnesses and injuries, the clinics provide immunisation programmes, mother and baby clinics, and dentistry. New cases of leprosy and polio have been completely eradicated from the area as a result of immunisation; those already disabled by these diseases are given the long term care they require. As I have written elsewhere, treatment for HIV and AIDS, including anti-retroviral drug therapy, is an increasingly important part of the work of the clinic. In all, 70,000 people are treated each year through RTU's health programme.
As with all the other areas of RTU's work, local people are fully involved in improving their health and their access to health care. Local women are trained as Village Health Workers, who deal with straight-forward illnesses and injuries, refer more difficult cases to RTU's clinical team, run ante-natal clinics, and weigh young children regularly to check their nutrition is adequate. RTU provides a specially formulated nutritious flour in cases of need. With the availability of health care when it is needed, a better chance of being employed, and vastly improved educational opportunities, the people in this area can move beyond the fight for survival and can develop as individuals and communities. Surely this is a basic right for everyone?
Health care has long been part of RTU's work. Around 150 people visit the main clinic each morning, receiving free consultations and medication. In the afternoon, a mobile clinic serves the more remote areas where there is no other access to medical care. A further 50 people can be treated each day. As well as dealing with illnesses and injuries, the clinics provide immunisation programmes, mother and baby clinics, and dentistry. New cases of leprosy and polio have been completely eradicated from the area as a result of immunisation; those already disabled by these diseases are given the long term care they require. As I have written elsewhere, treatment for HIV and AIDS, including anti-retroviral drug therapy, is an increasingly important part of the work of the clinic. In all, 70,000 people are treated each year through RTU's health programme.
As with all the other areas of RTU's work, local people are fully involved in improving their health and their access to health care. Local women are trained as Village Health Workers, who deal with straight-forward illnesses and injuries, refer more difficult cases to RTU's clinical team, run ante-natal clinics, and weigh young children regularly to check their nutrition is adequate. RTU provides a specially formulated nutritious flour in cases of need. With the availability of health care when it is needed, a better chance of being employed, and vastly improved educational opportunities, the people in this area can move beyond the fight for survival and can develop as individuals and communities. Surely this is a basic right for everyone?
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
twomarathons: a potted history
Some of you may be wondering why I'm doing this twomarathons project. (You wouldn't be alone; I've been asking myself that for months now!) With the finish line finally in sight, it seems a good time to reflect on the origin of the idea, and on its evolution.
As most readers will know, I'm a postulant with the Sisters of the Assumption, which is the first stage of formation. I started here (Kensington) in November 2007, and gradually got used to a timetable of prayer, study, and work. It was a big change from my previous lifestyle (renting a one-bedroom flat, juggling my career as a speech and language therapist with a busy social calendar), so it took me a while to settle, but things gradually fell into place. With the arrival of summer 2008 and a review of my first six months, Sister Simon (who is responsible for my formation) and I agreed that I needed something more apostolic in my schedule. Prayer life was reasonably established, community life too, but I didn't have a lot of connection with the world. Simon thought I could look into voluntary activities; I think she suggested charity shops. So I thought, and I prayed, and I investigated. What a huge array of possibilities there seemed to be! Overwhelmed by choice, I proposed the twomarathons project instead.
"Now, what is she talking about," I can hear you ask. "Two marathons? How is jogging in the park a work of outreach?" Needless to say, my immediate response is, "because of the charities!". I may not have had many opportunities to meet people during my training, but then, my training hasn't been what I expected in any respect! The fundraising, on the other hand, has been all about sharing my enthusiasm for these charities. The brilliant thing about enthusiasm is that, when it's shared, each portion doesn't get smaller, but grows, like flames spreading across the kindling in a grate. We are easily dampened, even doused, by the wet blankets of financial crisis, social breakdown, climate chaos, personal and national violence, and all the other struggles we encounter in the media. Yet there is another side to life! Fundamentally, we are all striving for peace, justice, and well-being. We all want to put an end to inequality. We all want to help where we see suffering. I'm in a hugely privileged position, with the time and support needed to make this project a success, to give others the opportunity to be generous and to make a difference. As so often in this blog, I want and need to say "thankyou"! Your interest and involvement have transformed a tentative idea into a spreading fire of enthusiasm. And you have shown me the unquenchable power of good in our world.
As most readers will know, I'm a postulant with the Sisters of the Assumption, which is the first stage of formation. I started here (Kensington) in November 2007, and gradually got used to a timetable of prayer, study, and work. It was a big change from my previous lifestyle (renting a one-bedroom flat, juggling my career as a speech and language therapist with a busy social calendar), so it took me a while to settle, but things gradually fell into place. With the arrival of summer 2008 and a review of my first six months, Sister Simon (who is responsible for my formation) and I agreed that I needed something more apostolic in my schedule. Prayer life was reasonably established, community life too, but I didn't have a lot of connection with the world. Simon thought I could look into voluntary activities; I think she suggested charity shops. So I thought, and I prayed, and I investigated. What a huge array of possibilities there seemed to be! Overwhelmed by choice, I proposed the twomarathons project instead.
"Now, what is she talking about," I can hear you ask. "Two marathons? How is jogging in the park a work of outreach?" Needless to say, my immediate response is, "because of the charities!". I may not have had many opportunities to meet people during my training, but then, my training hasn't been what I expected in any respect! The fundraising, on the other hand, has been all about sharing my enthusiasm for these charities. The brilliant thing about enthusiasm is that, when it's shared, each portion doesn't get smaller, but grows, like flames spreading across the kindling in a grate. We are easily dampened, even doused, by the wet blankets of financial crisis, social breakdown, climate chaos, personal and national violence, and all the other struggles we encounter in the media. Yet there is another side to life! Fundamentally, we are all striving for peace, justice, and well-being. We all want to put an end to inequality. We all want to help where we see suffering. I'm in a hugely privileged position, with the time and support needed to make this project a success, to give others the opportunity to be generous and to make a difference. As so often in this blog, I want and need to say "thankyou"! Your interest and involvement have transformed a tentative idea into a spreading fire of enthusiasm. And you have shown me the unquenchable power of good in our world.
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