Story
On 5th October 2013 I will be taking on the biggest challenge of my life - running the entire length of London's Jubilee Tube Line - to raise money for the Katie Compson foundation.
The route will see me run through 27 stations, 4 river crossings, and over 30 miles (48km) in total - the length of an Ultra Marathon. Many of you will know that my longest run to date is 13 miles back in 2010, and I have not run further than the bus stop since. The challenge here is clear!
Why, you might ask? Good question.
Three years ago, my beautiful friend Sarah's sister Katie was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
I, along with many friends, saw Sarah and her family go through the toughest time of their lives. We celebrated with Sarah the incredible highs which brought hope - when surgery was successful, or Katie was approved for a new drug trial, and tried to comfort her through the devastating lows, when news came that Katie's cancer had returned or the drug trial had eventually been unsuccessful. And finally the heartbreaking news that Katie had lost her battle, aged just 33.
Katie was treated at the Royal Marsden Hospital, and was adament that she wanted to raise money for the Royal Marsden. If she couldn't, then her family and friends should. In May 2013, Sarah and her family established the Katie Compson Foundation, a separate identifiable fund within The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to raise funds with the twin objectives of improving the management of pain for cancer patients in the NHS as a whole and supporting research.
Over a bottle of wine and a pizza Sarah and I chatted about what I could do to help raise funds. Having rejected bungee jumping or leaping out of a plane, I decided that this one would have to be epic. Only the biggest challenge of my life would do. We were going to make this one count. And so the ridiculously crazy idea was born, to run over three times further than I ever have, with just 12 weeks to train - whilst juggling raising a toddler and running a company.
Please support me in my challenge - I know every pound you donate will spur me on to run another mile, and will be enormously appreciated by Sarah and her family.
http://www.katiecompsonfoundation.com/
Jaki xx
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