01/04/2011

It is with great regret that I have pulled out of the marathon.  This is because of medical reasons.  I have a stress fracture, fluid on the bone and a torn tendon.

I have a place in next years marathon and so will be doing it then. 

Thanks for all the support over the last 6 months.  I promise i'll do it next year.

Big love Jackie

14/03/11

Yesterday I completed my first half marathon race, Lydd Half Marathon.  It was hard, really hard.  Amoung the many hard parts was when i reached mile 4 but thought it was mile 6 (I think i heard my heart break) and the last three miles i really felt like I had nothing left in me to keep going, but I did it in 2 hours and 29 minutes.  I have another half marathon in Reading on Sunday so just got to recover from this one and try and beat my time next week.  Good times.

28/02/11

Ran about 11 miles yesterday, 8ish around Hall Place until it started raining and getting too muddy then went to the gym to finish it off and did 3.5 miles.  Today i hurt.  Under two weeks until my first half marathon and six and a bit weeks until the Virgin London Marathon, please keep the money coming, it helps me run that bit further everytime and means so so much to me and Refuge.

22/02/11 Update

Went for a 10 mile run on Friday but 4.5 miles in I hurt my knee.  I walked for a bit but as the marathon's so close didn't want to risk doing more damage so called it a day.  I rested it for the weekend and did a small run last night (it appears to be ok just need to get a knee support).  All fun and games.  Keep on donating it's so great and means allot to me.  Only seven and a bit weeks to go and quite frankly this is the scariest thing i've ever done.

14/02/11 Update

I ran from my dad's house to my mum's yesterday which is 8 miles.  My ankle really hurts now.  Only 8 and a bit weeks to go until the big one and just under 4 until my first half marathon.  Thanks to all those that have already donated.  It honestly means the world to me.

08/02/11

Just an update I ran in my first race on Sunday (06/02/11) which was 10k, I did it in 1 hour and 7 minutes.  Only 9 and a bit weeks to go until the Marathon.

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This year I am donning my running shoes and taking part in the Virgin London Marathon.  In the years before I would have been in bed, horrendously hungover and if the head pounding wasn't that bad i'd flick on the TV and see that the London Marathon was on, grunt and pass back out again, not before having a fag.

Last year though, was different, my little sister got a place to run the marathon so we tried to spot and cheer her on at as many different places as we could.  Those of you that have been to watch it before will know it is actually quite hard with the DLR and Tube worse than at rush hour not to mentionthe wave after wave of bright colours which after 15 or so minutes you feel like your at a rave (and if you're anything like meyou would have been positioned outside a pub and losing focus rapidly, because on marathon day the pubs open from about 10am) and just randomly shouting at every man and woman that runs, limps or crawls past wearing even the smallest part of the colour that your looking for until your voice goes hoarse.

What I am trying to do is justify what I said to my sister when she finished, obviously I was really proud, gave her a kiss and a cuddle and then said "you think that's hard?  Try running around London for five hours!  Watching the marathon is harder than running it, FACT!"

Most of what she said isn't repeatable but she wasn't best pleased at my attempt at humour and challenged me to do better.  So not to be out done i agreed that i would indeed do better than her time of 5 hours and 21 minutes and the princely sum of £20 was agreed.

So here I am nearly a year later, i've given up smoking up to 20 a day.  I've given up drinking (I used to drink allot).  I have a 10k and two half marathons planned as way of training all before I take on the big one.

And all i ask is that you give me your money, well not me, Refuge.  One woman in every four experience domestic violence at some point in their life and two women are killed every week in England and Wales.  The money I raise will help support Refuge's life saving and life changing work.

Doesn't matter how big or small the donations are.  Every single penny counts.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my just giving page.