I have been charity running since 2012 when I first started running and have been raising money every year since. I finally divorced after a long separation roughly 5 years ago and my time is my own and in my search for purpose in my life I decided to dedicate all my time and effort to fundraising to help improve lives where I can. The best way I know how is through running.

We are now in 2016 and my fundraising is moving on with a new concept 'Running with Gru' which is the new name for my running blog which was previously LesJackson@14runs.

Gru is my nickname from another fundraising concept I run on Facebook called Run or Cake, which involves 80+ running friends from the North West who mentor and help each other achieve their running targets on a weekly basis. The group also raises money for 5 worthy charities as part of it's unique make up and forfeit system.

I have been keen to combine my work on that page with my own personal fundraising via 14RUNS so this is why I am rebranding 14RUNS as such to 'Running with Gru' for 2016.

Hopefully a small amount can be made along the way for the Run or Cakes group charities as I continue to write my ongoing running blogs for each event I do with the renamed Lesjackson@14runs blog now becoming 'Running with Gru' in the hope that people who read my blogs or support my running may throw in the odd donation.

You can find my Running with Gru blog and charity running exploits for 2016 at the  following web address:

http://runningwithgru.blogspot.co.uk

My 2015 exploits

Feb: Mad Dog 10k Southport, a local charity run organised by the local  Hesketh Round Table  every year to raise money for local charities.

March: Jacobs Leg it 10k at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk and a very worthy charity 10k and worthy of support which is why I selected it.

April: Calder Vale 10 mile road race, a hilly road race through the valley around Calder Vale, nice and hilly and tough.

May: Yarrow Park Bluebell 10k trail run, a nice 10k through Yarrow Park and the Yarrow river twice!

May: Excalibur marathon at Mount Famau in Wales, a 26.2 mile mountain range marathon that traverses the Clywdian range with a total climb/ascent of 5,500ft .Organised by Claire House to raise funds for them every year.Planning on doing this in 2016 as well.

June: Liverpool Rock'N'Roll half marathon in and around Liverpool and it's sights.I did the full marathon last year, but this is was 2 weeks after my above Excalibur marathon. I sadly got injured prior to this event, but still ran with an injured hamstring.

July: Btr Tour of Merseyside, a 6 day running tour around Merseyside, all 6 runs are tough and all 6 counted towards my total.Again I ran injured at this event.Planning on doing this again in 2016.

Day 1: Southport Half Marathon 13.2 miles.

Day 2: Thurstaston Multi Terrain 10k.

Day 3: Sustrans Cycle Trail 10 miler.

Day 4: Hale Village Road Race 5 miler.

Day 5: Stadt Moers Park Cross Country  6 miler.

Day 6: Wirral Coastal Run 12 miler.

A total of 52 miles in one week, an extremely tiring event over the week, and this one required me taking the whole week of work as a holiday!

July: Adidas TR24, a 24 hour 10k team relay event over a trail course at Catton Park in Derbyshire.I ran 3 x 10k laps throughout the 24hr event and totaled 18.6 miles by doing so, with little sleep, and still injured.

Sept: THHN City to Sea 53, a 53 mile ultra marathon from Exeter to Babbacombe Downs in Torbay.
**Due to my hamstring injury that I picked up in June I had to pull out of this event due to lack of injury recovery time and subsequent retraining time. I plan to reschedule another 50+ event in it's place hopefully in 2016.

Sept: Natterjack Seaside 10k, a local 10k to fit around my more difficult runs. First injury free event since June.

October:  This new event is called the Seaside24-Pier to Pier 35 mile challengeand was created and set up by myself and was a team of runners running from South Pier in Blackpool to Southport Pier in my hometown. It was officially my first Ultra Marathon and in itself was for 2 charities one of them being THHN the charity I am running the 14runs campaign for.

October: Snowdonia marathon, a 26.2 mile marathon around Snowdon and it's surrounding valleys.This was an extremely tough event especially 2 weeks after my 35 mile ultra. I intend on doing it again in 2016

Please note that the smaller 10k runs etc had been selected to show  support for fellow worthy charity causes.

Social Media Links:

I have a dedicated Facebook page which is the main hub for all information for the new 'Running with Gru' charity running campaign, and it can be found at the web address below.

Please copy and paste the address into your browser as it is not recognised as a link.

https://www.facebook.com/15RUNS/

Please note the 15RUNS in the web address,  is correct.

I have a newly renamed 'Running with Gru' blog at the following web address for my 2014 and 2015 exploits, please follow and read it when you can.

http://runningwithgru.blogspot.co.uk/ 

I also have a Twitter page in which you can get regular updates and posts at :

My 2014 exploits:

My running challenge and charity campaign for 2014 comprised of 14 runs over different terrain and distances and they were all completed by the end of Aug 2014.

I was during 2014 and 2015 very honored to of been given a personal discount on all my running gear needs throughout my campaign by a very kind supplier the Ultra Marathon Running Store based in the UK.
 
http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/

A big thank you also to Vital events who put on various sporting events throughout the North West including a local Triathlon and Half Marathon.

A big thank you to them for 2015 as they have agreed to sponsor me this year in my challenges .

http://www.vitalevents.co.uk/

An extra special and BIG THANK YOU also to Colin from Holmes-Smith Butchers in Southport for sponsoring me for the full cost of the Hoka's and for helping me with my nutritional needs in 2014 and 2015, long may it continue.

I also have another sponsor who have helped me in the past with my nutritional needs in 2014 and now 2015 51 Trattoria, an Italian restaurant on the Promenade in Southport and just across the road from where I work. A very nice restaurant.

http://www.trattoria51.com/ 

A big thank you also to my employers Ramada Plaza Southport who came on board in 2015 and agreed to sponsor me.

http://www.ramadaplazasouthport.co.uk/ 

A thank you to Henry's Deli on Hesketh Drive in Southport also for coming on board as a sponsor, and also for being one of my training pit stops for coffee&cake on a regular basis :)

http://www.henrysdeli.co.uk/  

Final thank you to Sam at Run Geek who produced my custom designed running t-shirts in 2015 and sorted out all the design work for putting the sponsors logo's and the 14RUNS logo's on for me.

Run geek are a supplier of running clothing, footwear and running accessories, you can find them at the following link:

http://www.rungeek.co.uk/

This charity I run for is a fairly new and worthy charity cause THHN Torbay Holiday Helpers Network who were set up by a fellow runner Luke Tillen down in Torbay.

The charity provides vital holiday accommodation and respite for families who have children with serious illnesses, bereaved families who have children, and families with children who have a terminally ill parent from all across the UK by sending them on free holidays, not just to Torbay but to destinations across the country and abroad., they also provide a wide range of free activities from fellow local businesses to help improve their holiday time away, they also fund grants for travel costs for families that couldn't otherwise attend what could be the last chance of a holiday together for some.

Please read about them here :

http://www.thhn.co.uk/