Sunday 18 March 2018

3 in 3 ~ Marathon Challenge 2018



Hi there! I've been absent for a while but I'm back, and more importantly I'm back running too :-) I'm turning 40 this year and wanted to mark this milestone by doing one of my challenges and supporting two key causes at the same time.

The '3 in 3 Marathon Challenge' will see me seek to complete 3 marathons all in under 3 hours. Things kick off in Brighton, England in April, before heading to Warsaw, Poland in September with the finale in Snowdonia, Wales in October. Each marathon presents its own challenges and Brighton is just 4 weeks away. EEK! My training miles have averaged some 30 miles per week (which is low!) after an extended break from running. So its fair to say that I'm some way off being in prime marathon fitness but I'm getting there and believe that anything is possible in life if you work for it. Snowdonia is not known for being a PB course as it's a little lumpy!!! :-D To run a sub 3 hour marathon in Snowdonia would be 50 minutes quicker than my time in 2017 and put me in the Top 1% finishers. So rest assured this Challenge is no walk [or run] in the park. I've got some serious work ahead of me.

I'm tying in my challenge with two fundraising campaigns #runforgarai and #goodshepherdcommunitybusproject and I would really appreciate your support, and you can also get involved in the challenge too! Keep reading if you want to know more.

I will provide regular updates on my '3 in 3 marathon challenge' and how training is going on my blog page.









My good friend Idai Makaya lost his brother Garai in a skydiving accident last year. Garai inspired many in the skydiving world to dream big and push themselves. #runforgarai ties in with the 2018 Longest Ride Challenge #rideforgarai where Idai will be attempting to ride his ElliptiGO stand up bike 1,700-miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back in under 14 days (Double End-to-End!) and in doing so set a new Guinness World Record. Idai is inviting other cyclists and ElliptiGO riders to join him too, whilst also encouraging riders to complete their longest ride in 2018. For more information about the 2018 Longest Ride Challenge click here.

With my heart already set on the marathon this year I don't have the time to train for the longest ride challenge but I wanted to support my friend. Hence my own challenge and fundraiser. Both the #rideforgarai and #runforgarai campaigns are seeking to raise funds to produce a professional sports documentary about Garai's life, his passions and the people he touched through sport which will seek to inspire and push others to perform in life.

I'd therefore like you to join me and #runforgarai by setting your own personal running goal for 2018. What would you like to achieve in 2018? Is it to run further than you have before? Is it to run a new PB over 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon or even further! Whatever your goal or dream why not set your sights on it today and start doing something about it. That's exactly what I am doing inspired by Idai and his brother Garai.

Simply post a comment on this blog if you are going to join me. Let me know what your running or cycling goal is for 2018.

If you would like to donate to the #runforgarai fundraising campaign you can do so here.



The second project I'm supporting is a local community initiative #goodshepherdcommunitybusproject. I live in your typical housing estate that lacks community amenities and provision especially for the youth but also for young families and the elderly for whom loneliness and lack of support is a big deal. 

The #goodshepherdcommunitybusproject is an initiative led by my Church to provide for our community on the Sandhills estate in Leighton Buzzard. The project is in its infancy and we are scoping out the exact nature of the provision needed. We hope it will include a dedicated youth community support officer to serve the estate and help knit the whole community together. Another central theme of the project is the potential provision of a mission bus to serve the community. At this early stage we can not commit to a single guaranteed solution but I can guarantee that your donation will make a huge difference in our community. 


If you would like to donate to the #goodshepherdcommunitybusproject fundraising campaign you can do so here.






Thanks!!

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