Got to get a shift on

Well, that's another week gone and just 92 days to the opening ceremony now. It's a week in which I've spammed all my email contacts and Facebook friends in pursuit of donations, scanned every list of running events imaginable to edge towards my target of 2012 miles for the year (I'm still the equivalent of about 12 marathons short) - and done very little actual running.

I fitted in a 5k parkrun last Saturday, when I had to strain every sinew to finish in under 22mins30, and another 11k either side of it (which doesn't count towards the 2012 as it wasn't not part of an official event), and I've felt too knackered since to do more than my regular games of 5-a-side. This afternoon I plan to run to a meeting and back, hoping I miss the worst of the April showers, but again it won't count towards the 2012. So, with tomorrow's Serpentine RC Last Friday of the Month 5k in Hyde Park and Saturday's Trent Park RC Handicap 5k, I'll have managed less than 10 miles towards the total in eight days.

That will take me to around 316 miles for the year so far, comprising - for those who are interested in such things - the events listed below. I've got to get a shift on.

January
1		Serpentine RC 10k
February
4		Finsbury parkrun 5k
12		Bramley 20
19		London Ultra 50k
24		Serpentine RC Last Friday 5k
25		Trent Park RC Handicap 5k
26		Boxmoor 17
March
3		G3 10k
4		Mornington Chasers Regent's Park 10k
		Heathside RC Finsbury Park 5k
10		Wuthering Hike, Haworth 32
17		Finsbury parkrun 5k
		Miles for Missing People Regent's Park 10k
18		Baldock Beast half marathon
24		Barcelona Breakfast Run 5k
25		Barcelona marathon
30		Serpentine RC Last Friday 5k
31		Trent Park RC Handicap 5k
April
1		Mornington Chasers Regent's Park 10k
7		Bedford Clanger 28
8		Go Beyond Northampton marathon
9		Kent Roadrunner Gravesend marathon
14		Paris Breakfast Run 5k
15		Paris marathon

Did we mention the other five miles?

I've just discovered that the Lakeland 100 is actually 105 miles. I have a feeling that if I get that far, those five miles are going to be the longest - and quite possibly the slowest - of my life ...

100 days to the 100

The trouble with the countdown to the London 2012 Olympics is that it’s a constant reminder of how many days I’ve got left until I’ll be running the 100-mile ‘Ultra Tour of the Lake District’. Today it’s 100 days to the Olympic opening ceremony, which means that I’ve got 100 days left to catch up on training, stock up on calories – and try to rope in some sponsors to make attempting to run those 100 miles worthwhile.

Which is why I decided it's about time I did something about it.

I signed up to the Lakeland 100 in a moment of madness last year. Since then it's become part of a ‘2012 in 2012’ Olympic-year challenge that will see me run 2012 miles in various events in support of three charities and in memory of my dad, who died last year. The 100 will be by far the toughest individual event. It’s certainly well outside my comfort zone, so I hope you’ll think of me when those opening ceremony fireworks go off – and consider sponsoring me with a donation to one or more of these charities:

Whizz-Kidz, a disabled children’s charity for which my dad climbed Kilimanjaro ten years ago at the age of 73;  
Teach Africa, which supports the education of girls in some of Nairobi’s worst slums; and  
Freedom from Torture, which works with the survivors of torture and their families.

You can donate online by clicking the link for the charity of your choice.

This is by way of an opening blog. Yes I know it's mid-April, so I'm late starting it. But I was late starting the 2012 miles too. In January I did just one 10k event and by the end of March I was still only up to 196 miles (training doesn't count). I've got some catching up to do. Can I do it?