As you may or may not know, yours truly has secured a
charity place in the London Marathon, running for Make A Wish Foundation. Not
content with just this huge obstacle (26.2 miles seems an awful long way at
present) I decided that I wanted to make 2017 a year of challenges in the hope
of being able to convince you kind souls to part with a little bit more cash. Therefore
I have also signed up/promised to complete the below challenges, crossing
various disciplines, throughout the duration of 2017 (each with a time limit to
add the pressure a little).

But why this charity, especially when so many of you know
about my feelings on children……

Make a Wish Foundation is a charity that grants wishes to
children and young people with life threatening conditions. I chose this
charity because the children that it supports have not had the opportunity to
have a normal childhood as most of us have been fortunate to enjoy. Many will
have been plagued with these conditions since birth, bearing both the burden on
them and their family, never knowing what it is like to live a life without it.
Children who by the age of 3 or 4 have more than likely gone through far more
than I can ever imagine which certainly puts my 4 hours (hopefully!) of running
for the marathon in perspective. So raising money for wishes such as starring
in a film, being a vet for a day or having a bedroom makeover to lighten the
monotony of illness and hospitals is the least that I can do.

If there are any suggestions to add to the below list that
you will sponsor me extra for, let me know and I will get it in there if I can!
And if you would like to join me for any of them, please do let me know,
company appreciated!

The Challenges:

• Running 5km in every London Borough: 33 London
  boroughs if you count the City of London and I will run 5km in every one 
• Walking the Capital Ring – this is a 78 mile
  loop around London 
• London Marathon – 23^rd April – lordy
  26.2 miles is a long old way
• Tough Mudder – 20^th May - 12 miles of
  mud and obstacles including electric shocks, ice water and heights (with a
  promise to attempt every single one, heights are my nemesis)
• London to Brighton – 18^th June –
  Cycling the 54 miles route from London to Brighton with my trusty steed Cedric
• Total Warrior – 24^th June – a mere
  10km of mud and obstacles for this one
• RideLondon – 30^th July – Cycling 100
  miles starting and ending in London through the Surrey countryside 
• Bear Grylls Survival Race - 30th September - London - 10km, more mud and
  obstacles including the on course fuel stops of worms (!)
• Three Peaks – October – Climbing the 3 highest
  peaks in Wales (Snowdon 1085m), England (Scafell Pike 978m) and Scotland (Ben
  Nevis 1345m) in 24 hours

Below are some that I have put on the agenda but haven’t yet
signed up, either due to logistics or finances (this is an expensive
undertaking):

• London Survival of the Fittest – 22^nd
  July – 10km urban run with 10 Survival obstacle zones
• Mud7 – 12^th August – sounds easy, 7km
  of obstacles, until you realise that that includes 7 different obstacle race
  organisers each getting 1km and throwing their best obstacles at you within
  this

This comes in at a nice and healthy 700ishkm (not including
training)

So whether you sponsor me for the charity, for my idiocy or
just because you are happy not to be doing too, please do dig deep. There is
even a talk of ‘sober until the marathon if/when I pass the £2000 target’…….
Arguably my greatest achievement!

Ellie xx