London 2010 for my cousin Kerry

Minchinhampton Rugby and Cotswold Allrunners member, Chris Brookman is running the London Marathon 2010 for the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre.

Chris started running around 3 years ago and had entered the London Marathon Ballot twice but was unsuccessful in gaining a place.  He then gave up running for a few years and until recently its something that he hadn’t really thought much about.

Then after seeing an advert in the in the Stroud News and Journal for the Stroud Half marathon he decided to join the Higgys Heroes team.

“My cousin Kerry suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and it was because of her I got back into running. 

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I really enjoy running

Angela here.  Hi!

I started running when a friend whose husband has MS, asked me to be her running buddy and training partner for the Stroud Half Marathon. She, like me, would be starting from scratch, we’d have 4 months to train and we’d be doing it to raise awareness of the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre.

Doubting whether I could even run to my car and back I gingerly said ‘yes’. 

Running, let alone marathon running, wasn’t even on my Top 1000 Things To Do Before I Die list.  But I rose to the challenge

We trained 2-3 times a week along Stroud’s beautiful tow paths chatting all the way and upping our distance each week until wonderful new muscles had developed in our thighs and we were ready to run the race.

We came 1,524th on the day, beating the man dressed as a rhino but not many others. But it didn’t matter. The experience was a 100% positive one and its effects still linger.

I have found running something I really enjoy. For me it’s an extension of walking which I love anyway, but knowing I am pushing my body that much harder, knowing it’s healthy, and knowing that I am making the most of my body while I still can makes it special.

I am not ambitious with my running.  I just enjoy the exercise, the company and training tips of the Cotswold Allrunners, and the tiny advances I make in speed or distance from time to time – though not over Christmas or when it’s pouring of course.

The coach helps me to extend the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of and having a fixed time each week to run provides the extra discipline and tips that make all the difference. I can only recommend it to anybody wanting to get fit.

It’s not hard, it’s not expensive and it is fun!

Angela from Stroud and member of Cotswold Allrunners