Laura Nicholson
Laura's page
Fundraising for Retina UK
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Well so far Katie and I have managed to raise a monumental £2692.50 on justgiving.com which is not bad really over a two week period. Katie's father, Geoffrey Ransby, has some cheques at home as well which brings the total to over £3000. I must admit I am a bit astonished at just how much we have done is so little time but it does go to show the amount of support that Katie has with her friends and family which certainly helped to spur us on.
The weather for the half marathon could not really have been kinder considering it was November. There was a bit of a breeze to begin with, but as we entered the shelter of the New Forest this soon disappeared. The course is ideal as it is all on quiet country roads which meant that it was far easier for me to concentrate on getting Katie round and we could actually relax into our running stride without worrying about too many cars; the ponies wandering down the road provided some amusement. Mind you, those hills.....
To be honest, I think Katie was fantastic. It is the furthest distance that she has ever run and we did not do nearly as much training as we should have done and so getting round in our official time of 2:05 was extremely commendable. I know that she found the last three miles a bit of a battle, which reminded me of my first half marathon (horrendous) but she refused to walk and we only slowed a little despite her right hip getting very uncomfortable. We ticked off each mile as another £200+ raised.
Thanks must be made to her father, boyfriend and Rhubarb the dog for encouraging us around the course. Katie has said "Never again", but I know that she is like me and will be looking forward to the next event once the pain has subsided and the memories take on a pink edged tinge! You just can't beat that feeling of crossing the finishing line.
I really hope that the money we have raised can make a difference and we will keep our fingers crossed that medicine develops enough that there may be a cure in years to come.
UPDATE: Katie and I completed the half marathon today. The weather was kind and although a little breezy, we had blue skies and sunshine. Our official time was 2:05 which is pretty impressive considering this was Katie's first attempt at anything like this and the fact that we didn't really do much training. Go, go Katie. Ironman next?
Now most of you who know me will know that a half marathon is not the worst challenge I have done before, but the fact that I am running it with my friend Katie who is visually impaired may grab your interest a little more and make you more inclined to donate. In fact it is the worst challenge I have ever done (in Katie's words, not mine)!
Katie suffers from RP.
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the name given to a group of inherited diseases of the retina (Structure of the Eye) that all lead to a gradual progressive reduction in vision. Difficulties with night vision and peripheral vision are the first things that are noticed. Later, reading vision (detailed vision) and colour vision are affected. The age at which symptoms start is variable and may vary with the different genetic types (Genetics and Retinitis Pigmentosa). The rate at which vision deteriorates is variable but is generally very slow with changes occurring over years rather than months. In approximately half of all cases (50 to 60%) there are other family members with RP. There are three main inheritance patterns, autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant and X-linked inheritance, depending on the genetic cause (Genetics and Retinitis Pigmentosa). RP affects approximately 1 in 3,000 to 4,000 people.
Katie has reached the stage where she has limited vision and is putting her faith in me to get her around the course without any falls, bumps or mishaps. It is the first half marathon she has ever run and just getting round will be a monumental achievement for her. Imagine doing the same blindfolded and this will not be far from the truth.
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So please dig deep and donate now.
http://www.rpfightingblindness.org.uk