Keeping up with my tradition of slightly random challenges, I decided to set myself one in preparation for turning 40.  Having never even run for a bus, I was coerced into undertaking couch to 5k in February 2021 when lockdown prevented any indoor exercise.  Despite being slower than a slug, I have slowly improved and by the summer had conquered the initial 5k, albeit at a very slow pace.  

I completed my first 'proper' (where you get a medal!) race on October 23rd 2021 and am aiming to have earned 40 medals by October 23rd 2022 when I will be (just over) 40 years old.  This challenge is partly to improve my fitness, massively to support my mental health but mainly about the bling!

Rather than doing this just for myself, I have also decided to do these races in memory of my hero, Granddad, who passed away on December 10th 2021.  Granddad was someone who truly didn't give up, this is something I remind myself of when running...dig deep then dig deeper!  

On February 15th 1942, Granddad was captured at Singapore by the Japanese. He had to stand at the side of the road while the victorious Japanese paraded by and was then imprisoned in Changi camp for several months.  He was then taken by train up into Thailand where he was put to work on the notorious Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway.  He spent nearly 3 years on the railway, including building the embankment for the Bridge over the River Kwai, until the Japanese decided to move most of the prisoners to Japan.  He was taken by prison ship (Hell Ships) to Brunei Bay in Borneo. From there, they sailed to the Philippines where the ship was torpedoed by an American submarine and sank in minutes.  The ship was the Hofuku Maru transporting 1317 Australian and British POW's. A total of 1159 died when the ship sank.  He was rescued by nearby Japanese patrol boats which were attacked the following day by American fighters and also sunk.  Eventually local fishing boats took them to the mainland with the prisoners being taken to Bilibid Prison in Manila where they stayed until liberated by American troops some months later.  Granddad turned 100 years old on November 29th 2021 and, at the time, would have been one of the youngest surviving British soldiers to be captured at Singapore.  

In his later years Granddad was supported considerably by Blind Veterans UK; a charity that has provided rehabilitation, training, practical advice and emotional support to ex-Service men and women since 1915.  They helped us with sorting out a range of allowances and benefits that we weren't aware he was entitled to, gave him countless things to help with his eyesight including a machine that would read books aloud, a talking clock and his treasured "the time is now..." watch.  They also braved taking him away on a trip to Llandudno with other ex-Service men and women.  They had a measurable impact on his quality of life, particularly in the last few years when his eyesight had substantially deteriorated.

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