Leeds 10k Race Result

This year's Jane Tomlinson Leeds 10k was nearly a miss this year, partly because up to only a couple of minutes before the start it was teeming with rain, but mostly because - thanks to my over-zealous efforts at the Leeds Half Marathon and the Hull 10k the week afterwards, I managed to partially rupture my Achilles Tendon. Even on the morning it was very stiff and I still have a noticeable limp. But this was the fifth year of the Leeds 10k and I was determined to do it, at a steady pace if nothing else.

So I was quite pleased when the rain stopped just long enough to get round in a reasonably on-pace 1:04:25, and so far, with no repercussions to speak of aside from a little swelling. My total raised for charity was a big fat zero, because I really wasn't sure if I would be ready in time (the doc advised against it), but there is the York 10k at the end of July, where people will be duly pestered once again.

Off the Bus and Into the School

Following on from the Atheist Bendy Bus comes news of a sister donation site. This comes as a relief to me, as mentioned in my earlier post, there is only so much money you can spend on posters and billboards before some opponents begin to ask, 'well, why didn't you use it for something more needy?'. As was raised in some of the comments to that post, it wouldn't be fair or right to redirect that cash when the donating parties did so in good faith that it would be spent on spreading the word and being a voice for change.

The original fund-raiser has slowed down now but still gets the odd couple of quid added to it. It's a very healthy £110,000 as I write, and like many comments on the page have said, further donations should start to be channelled elsewhere for this momentum to keep going.

Don't let the URL put you off, the British Humanist Association is behind it once again, this time raising money to support a campaign representative to lobby and fight for the right for our children to go to secular schools which, although teaching about the various faiths (and Atheism and Agnosticism as well) would leave it for the children themselves to decide whether to follow them or not. They will act as a voice against the divisive notion of faith schools and instead try to promote an educational environment where kids can grow up with one less reason to find differences with each other. A more informed generation that is not under the 'guiding hand' of funded religious influence is surely a good thing and should be encouraged as much as possible. If you enjoyed what has become affectionately known as the 'most expensive pay-as-you-go forum' on the internet, please do your bit and pledge.

Also: if you might be wondering about where all the basic ingredients for the major Abrahamic faiths come from, you might want to take a look at this site, and particularly this page, which was posted on the bus fund-raiser page several times. It goes through a theory of how and where the various story elements of Christianity may have come from. The site doesn't quite qualify for a Web 2.0 award, but the content is sound, (the experiments the author has used to come to his/her conclusions can be recreated by anyone) and I found it compelling reading.

Harewood House - Result

Me and my boss Howard managed it around the Harewood House 10k yesterday, and despite being the hilliest course I have taken part in, and not doing so much exercise in the prior weeks, I managed to put in a time of 1:01:55, which is my best time on a 10k event. There was a glimmer of hope for a sub-hour time, but a massive hill between the 7 and 8k mark put paid to that, but I'm still happy. Next on the list - the Leeds Abbey Dash in November.

Harewood House 10k

Well, I threatened myself that I would do it and I will. My next race will be the Harewood House 10K in Leeds on 14 September. The organizers are being a little coy about the actual race route, but so far they have said that its around the grounds of the house and will be 'a bit hilly but not quite as bad as last year'. Apparently last year, the hills caused people to keel over a bit, and since the hill is my natural enemy, it'll be a bit of a slog, but it's all for charity so it will be worth it.

I will be running for Cancer Research UK and I've set up a fundraising page here for anyone who would like to sponsor me, or you could come along on the day and watch me turn into a gibbering, wheezing heap.

Leeds Run For All 2008

Last Sunday, the rain mercifully waited just long enough for most of the racers to get over the finish line with only their accumulated sweat and the contents of a few thousand drinks bottles to drench them.

This post is a big thankyou to everyone who has sponsored me for this event. So far, the amount raised by everyone is £153, which will be heading to Macmillan Cancer Support soon. If you wanted to sponsor me but forgot or never got the chance, you still can - please visit my donation site, which will remain open for sponsorship until 22 September.

It was a pretty damn good day. The atmosphere at the start was electric and the whole buzz had a life affirming feel, seeing so many people trying to acheive goals and raise cash together. It got a little lairy as a few thousand people tried to wave their arms and legs about in an attempt to follow the warm-up guy without killing the person next to them but it was great fun. The only slight let-down was that almost twice the amount of people (12,000 ish) took part this year over last years totals, and it was a bit of a crush at the start and the half-way point. The first half mile was not much more than walking pace and the 'hairpin bend' at the 5.5km mark almost brought the pack to a standstill.

I will use these excuses and more to explain my 1:04:30 time, which is about 30 seconds off last year, where I pushed myself too hard off the start and ended up paying for it in the final two-thirds. This year, once the pack had opened out, I was keeping a steady pace all the way around, and at the end it was less of a case of crawling back to the car, as walking sedately.

Seriously considering the Pudsey and Harewood House runs later on this year..

Leeds Run For All 2008

As a brief stop between all the Japanese stuff, I thought I'd mention that I will be running the Leeds Run For All 2008 again. It's a 10Km run through the centre of leads out towards Headingley and back again.

Last year, with the help of many kind people including family, friends and work colleagues I was able to raise £500 for Macmillan Cancer Relief, and my performance was.. well, not too bad, clocking in at 1:03:58. This year, I hope to break the hour mark, and donations to the cause would certainly speed me onto that goal!

So if any kind souls would like to sponsor me for this cause, you'll be helping cancer sufferers around in the UK and abroad.

My justgiving site is here: http://www.justgiving.com/fp_rfa08. Remember to tick the Gift Aid box to ensure the taxman doesn't get his hands on part of it.

Thanks in advance,

FP