Recap:
On the 8th September 2019, I will be running the UK Fast City of Salford 10k with friends and family in aid of Brain Tumour Research.
It’s going to be an incredibly proud day for me and my family as I run in memory of my mum, Julie, who we will have sadly lost 10 years ago on the 5th September and Pidda our much loved family friend, who we also lost this year after his own 10 year battle with tumours.
I’ve got roughly 10 weeks to get into shape for my first 10K (I’m currently running 5k’s, but more on that later) and TQUK is showing their support along the way as well – some will be running, some will be sponsoring, some will be sharing their story.
10K for 10 years seems fitting.
Brain Tumour Research
The running team and I are raising money for Brain Tumour Research as it's the horrible disease that kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. And yet historically, surprisingly and alarmingly, it only receives 1% funding of the national spend on cancer research.
Brain Tumour Research aims to find a cure for brain tumours, simple. They are the only national charity in the UK that is dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours and they lead the call for greater support and action into what scientists have called ‘the last battleground against cancer.’
Go Fund Me
My family and I have set up a Go Fund Me page in order to raise funds to support the great work that Brain Tumour Research do, we’re hoping to raise £1,000 towards the cause and in memory for my mum.
I’ve never really done anything like this before but I believe in what I’m running for, the cause, the person, friends and family and the TQUK team, all of which have been great in encouraging me and pushing me to run further and train harder.
If you would like to donate to Brain Tumour Research, please follow the link to my page. Any donations large or small will be greatly received and will push me to run that little bit harder on race day.
Final note
I started my training a few weeks ago, increasing lung capacity, getting the legs warmed up and learning some new routes around the TQUK office for after-work runs. Now it’s game time. Over the next few weeks, I aim to, with the help of the team, keep you up to date with training, sponsorship targets and thanks and get prepared for what will be an incredible day on September 8th.
This is for you Mum.
Week 8 – The Park Run
After 8 weeks of pounding pavement, we decided to go for a leisurely run around the park to help our knees! Week 8 was our first week sporting the Brain Tumour Research running gear who very kindly sent these ready for race day in order for us to show our support. Ash and I headed off (trying to keep it at a non-competitive pace) to the park to start our laps, in new bright pink running gear no less! It was a good feeling, even if I was just running around the park, it felt good to be wearing sporting the charity's logo and getting the word out there about why we're running this race. It’s all about raising awareness, wherever we are, to help the charities reach their goals.
We were cheered on by a few local lads in the community who quite rightly asked ‘Are you running around the park?’…to be fair to them, the term running is debatable by the time they saw is. It was more of a stumble.
After 4 or 5 laps of the park, we headed back to our office to take our sweaty, red-faced selfies and drink as much water as possible. Considering we’ve been on a few runs, I thought it was meant to get easier? The saving grace for this run was that we did have a little bit of rain to keep us cool on the way round. We are definitely hoping Manchester provides (as it usually does!) and we have a little bit of rain on race day! It wouldn't be Manchester without it.
Week 9 – The Final Preparations
Due to our last park run being such a success, we decided to take the rest of the team out for a run on the park. Work finished at 17:00 and we all put our running gear on for the last time before race day. We started off at a nice pace and headed straight into the park, with the more experienced runners moving ahead so we could do laps at our own pace. It became a game of cat and mouse, proving to be a little more competitive than usual with Paul managing to lap everyone at least twice! The team definitely preferred running the park route.
We headed back and went to the local pub for a quick pint before heading back. Gameday is Sunday! The run starts at 10:15 so stay tuned for our final blog next week after we’ve completed the 10K.
The support from Training Qualifications UK has been amazing. Since I mentioned the run the whole company has been behind me 100%, trying to think of different ways that we could all raise money for the charity. It means a lot to myself that all of the staff have been so supportive throughout my training, and also with several members instantly joining up to do the 10K. I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart, for all their support and help throughout this.
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