It is with some trepidation that I have entered the 2010 Great North Run.... I am sure I heard myself once say "never, ever again" and something about my dead body..

Let me take you back 7 or 8 years (I can't remember exactly when - what is it they say about post traumatic stress...?) and a lumbering, self deluded guy thinking he could run a half marathon with minimal training - me of course.  They were amongst the worst 2hr41 minutes of my life as I managed through the race to convince myself that they had stopped doing mile markers after mile 4 and that the next marker I would see would not be the logical 5 mile marker but a more welcome 7 or 8 mile marker.... Sadly this proved to be nothing more than wishful thinking and unfortunately for me 5 came then 6,7,8 and so on - each increasingly more difficult to get to than the last - I am sure the various musical bands at each mile marker were very good but I found them to be nothing more than an annoying reminder of how difficult my task was and how stupid I was to not train sufficiently.

Well time and tide.... or whatever the expression is that implies you learned a harsh lesson and this time will be so different.   I aim to beat my previous time by at least 30 minutes - no mean feat as training has been hampered but I will do my best.

What is also different this time is my wish to support a charity and I have selected Arthritis research.  A wonderful cause who provide much needed support for the many, many sufferers of this debilitating disease that genuinely ruins the lives of those unfortunate enough to suffer from it.  I won't bore you with the statistics and numbers affected - needless to say if you get it you really wish you hadn't...

 

You can help me to provide a small yet important contribution to this excellent cause and potentially make that breakthrough and difference to thousands of people.

 

Please give what you can - every donation helps no matter the size and helps us all feel like we are giving that little something back.