Hi, my name is Laura Adkins and I am running the Oxford Half marathon in aid of the wonderful charity, SpecialEffect.

Those of you who know me, will be well aware that I have always categorically said that my body wasn’t built for running! And, I was right, that is still the case and now I have all the associated aches and pains to prove it! I can’t run!

So, why am I doing this? Well, because I am never one to turn down a challenge and can quite often get swept up in the enthusiasm of it all, so when I found out that a couple of my colleagues @ Whitley Stimpson were taking part for SpecialEffect, as part of our Twin Town 2020 fundraising campaign, I put my name down, I can do that! Not really thinking about that small part of it that involved physically running 13.1 MILES(!!) and the gruelling training plan that awaited me!

At the time of writing this, I have been out running (if you can call it that, there is a fair bit of walking going on, eek!) 3 times a week and have clocked up a total of 128.88 miles (I’m not going to admit how long this has taken) and I have felt EVERY SINGLE STEP, even running whilst on holiday – something I never thought I would do. Not bad for a girl nearer to 40 than 30 and having never run a mile in her adult life before June this year. I even had to go and buy a pair of trainers! I wish I could say that I am enjoying it, that this will be part of a new, athletic version of myself that will enjoy running regularly as part of my weekly routine, but if I’m honest, I doubt it! But I will try…...

Now for the fundraising part. I am well in to my training plan and up 9 miles now (mostly running ;-)) and can see the end in sight, and to be honest, quite excited about the main event too, so it is time to set up my JustGiving Page and start raising some money! All this pain and dedication has to be worth something, right?

As I said, the charity we are running in aid of is SpecialEffect, which is an amazing charity focused on improving the lives of the physically disabled and uses technology to bring family and friends together by putting fun and inclusion back in to their lives. There are so many inspiring videos and stories showing the incredible work they do, such as this lovely moment last month when the team went to see Finlay in Scotland and update his gaming set-up.

I am also very excited about the BubbleBusters Pilot Project; having 2 young children myself I know how important it is for them to be included at school and recognised amongst their peers, so this pilot really inspired me.

The opportunities open to us all due to technology is remarkable and it is incredible what can be done; take a look here to see the many wonderful people SpecialEffect have helped (get your tissues at the ready!).

So, I better go out for my second run of the week, hoping my knees will not let me down and allow me to keep putting one foot in front of the other…. your sponsorship for not only is going to be a massive personal achievement for me, but also for such a great cause, will be gratefully received.

Thanks,

Laura x