SKINDOGG RETURNS - 2011

I'm back having made my debut in the Great North Run in 2009 inspired by the loss of my Grandma, I managed to get around in 1hr 58mins. It also enabled me to tick it off my list of things to do before I go! An added bouns was it allowed me to raise money for a very worth while cause in Breast Cancer, of which I have witnessed first hand the heart ache it can cause.

So why am I back for a second go? erh..... I dont know really. The opportunity of a place in this years race came through Newcastle United Foundation, for whom I currently work. The Foundation is the offical charity of Newcastle United FC and they look to use the local passion for football to encourage learning and promote healthy lifestyles that will make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged children, young people and families in our region. This is achieved by not only the various football programmes we run but various other programmes that we run including Match Fit, Match Fit Families, Premier League 4 Health, Premier League 4 Sport, Disability & Social Inclusion, Familiy Learning and Enterprise to name but a few. We would not be able to run these programmes if it was not for the various funders who contribute to the costs associated with the running such programmes.

So just like all the other charities we need to raise funds to aid us to make a difference within the community which currently consists of Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Now havingtried pulling on your heart strings to get you to part with some hard earned money, in what at present is a difficult economy, I may as well try and bring a smile to your face by letting you know how my training is going!!!!!

Bah! that good! lets just say I am finding it a lot harder than last time I trainined back in 2009. Finding the time for training is proving troublesome what with me having a young daughter now. I am trying to train at least 3 times a week and at present I can comfortably run between 5 & 7miles each time with a pace of around 8.5 minutes per mile, however I can say one thing it isnt getting any easier to get out there and run, although it is getting a lot easier not to bother! 

Thats all for now I will try and keep updating where i'm at with my training, but for now I am off to try and find that extra 6.1miles with 10 weeks of training left. Ouch, wish me luck.

One last thing please donate any amount that you are able to afford to enable us to continue to make a difference in the community. Plus if you dont I will have to foot the bill of £350.!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Cheers

Ian Skinner

AKA Skindogg