I haven't always been a keen runner. Having asthma as a child I actually used to hate any sport that involved running. Over time, however, I've tried to work on this. I now find myself going for the occasional run - and, dare I say it, enjoying it! I've come a long way and to celebrate this I've decided to challenge myself.
This is about personal goals and commitment. No New Year resolutions for me. Instead I've taken a slightly different approach to making this year count and have chosen to set a specific goal; in 2014 I will run a lot.
One year, one thousand kilometres...
That might sound crazy to some, but I think that 1000 kilometres is a fairly realistic distance to cover in twelve months. It equals to approximately 20 kilometres a week, which I would usually do in two runs or so. The tricky bit for me is organising my time to secure a few hours to run every week.
As part of the fun I have entered a few organised runs and I am keeping an eye out for more as I would love to enter as many as possible (let me know if you see any good ones!). So far I've entered:
- The Whole Foods Market Breakfast Run (16.2 miles), March 23rd
- The Virgin London Marathon (26.2 miles), April 13th
- The British 10k London Run (6.2 miles), July 13th
The Virgin London Marathon will be my first ever marathon and I am really excited about it! To make sure I finish in a good time I am training on a regular basis and thanks to the clever devices that we carry on ourselves every day, you can track my progress at any time via my Tribesports profile! As you can see I'm already behind my target for this time of the year, but by publicly announcing my running goal I am hoping that you will keep an eye on my progress and help me ensure that I keep up with my target.
Running for the youth
To make this challenge count for others as well, I have chosen to raise money for UK Youth; every penny donated will go straight to this great cause. We all deserve to have a good start in life; to have access to knowledge and skills that will help us build wonders and achieve our dreams, regardless of our background or differences. UK Youth is devoted to helping young people by enabling them to develop the tools they need for life, work and a better future. For one and for all. If you would like to contribute please visit my donation page and play a role in helping the youth!
Any form of support will be welcome of course, so feel free to send me encouragements on social media too - I'm on Twitter and Facebook. And if you feel like it, you could spread the word and share this blog post too. I would really appreciate it.