Kieran is running twelve races in twelve months to raise money for InterAct Stroke Support. With three races down, we asked him for his thoughts on the challenge so far and how he's feeling about the races coming up!
I had been hoping that I would be lucky enough to get a place in the London Marathon and that I could run it to fundraise for InterAct. As it was 414,875 other people had also decided to apply via the general ballot, so I was left disappointed. However, I was still keen to raise funds and thought about what else I could do. I eventually came up with the idea to run a race each month during 2019, my “12 Races in 12 Months”.
I knew it would be a challenge for me because, although I do some running, I would not normally plan to run races this frequently. I was also hoping that others would see it as a challenge and that this would encourage them to donate. So how are things going three months in?
Well I’m doing a lot of running! In some ways turning up and running the races is the easy part. It’s fun running with other people, being cheered along the way, and there is also the medal (and occasionally a free T-shirt) to look forward to at the end. I’ve even managed a new PB for the half marathon!
It’s the training that’s the hard bit.
My 3 races so far add up to just over 42 miles, but I have done a lot more in my training. By the end of March, the total, including my races, will be around 300 miles and I expect to have run more than 1,000 miles by the date of my last race.
So why do it? Why run two marathons, four half marathons, and six 10Ks? Why run one race knowing that, rather than taking it easy for the rest of the week, I’ll be out training again in a couple of days because the next race is only 4 weeks away? Why go out for another training run when I would rather just spend a bit longer in bed? I’m doing it because I know, and have seen at first hand, the good work that InterAct does, and this is my way of helping them carry on that work.
But I should say that, despite all the training, despite the poor weather, despite all the aches and pains, I am enjoying this challenge and I know it will have all been worthwhile when I eventually hit (and hopefully exceed) my fundraising target of £3,000.
So here’s looking forward to the next 9 races!