As I write this post I am lying on my belly, one bent leg held unceremoniously aloft as I perform my physiotherapy exercises. Since Birmingham Marathon (which I finished in 5 hours and 10 minutes, chock -a-block full of ibuprofen & limping) I have done a couple of truly agonising recovery runs, had a rest week, then had one last test run; which was on October 30th. That Monday I ran the 2.5 miles to work, cried, showered & phoned the physio to get an appointment. The niggling hip pain I had been experiencing in the build up to the marathon had been aggravated by the non-stop 26.2 miles and turned into a full blown run-preventing injury.
Two weeks of no running later and I finally had my appointment. I spent the hour walking up & down corridors being watched, hopping, bending my knees to touch walls, and being generally wiggled, measured & manipulated. By the end of it she decided that the best course of action was for me to get an x-ray for a possible stress fracture of the hip. An unusual but serious running injury. As well as being under orders to go & get that done as soon as possible (which I managed to do the next morning), I am currently also under orders not to run, not to cycle, and for the time being to also cut down on the amount I am walking. Not what I wanted to hear. Life isn't always about getting to hear what we want though. So despite the fact that I have only achieved 845 miles of the 1000 I had set myself I have to stop. The physio tells me it is going to be a long time until I will be running 20-30 miles in a week again. It hurt to hear that, but it will hurt more if I don't listen. I did my best to run 1000 miles, from having only started running ~6 months before the challenge started, but the challenge literally broke me. Now I will have to content myself with the 1360km I have achieved, await the results of the x-ray, and continue with my exercises:
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I'm now over 600 miles into my 1000 mile journey, and it has been nearly nine months since I was in Nepal with Impact Marathons. Whilst I was there I had a day visiting Global Action Nepal projects. I'd chosen the charity before leaving for Nepal and knew them for their excellent work rebuilding schools after the earthquake in April 2015. As I have a young daughter myself this charity really resonated with me. As you'll know from this blog already I speak highly of the charity, and helping them gave me (and donors!) the lovely warm fuzzy feeling of helping children less well off than our own. On our project day we visited one of schools, met the wonderful children (and even danced with them!), and spoke to the grateful and informative teachers. All was as I might have expected; a beautiful time for we privileged Westerners seeing the heart-warming product of our generosity. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was clear that the money I've raised was having a positive impact on the school, but the experience didn't change anything for me, or for the children. I was a tourist still. However, I didn't just visit the school. And it transpires that the money doesn't just go to the school either. The marathon runners, and the money we raised, also ventured into the local community. You see, investing in the school is brilliant, and it means that the children attending have a much better education, but what about the children who don't make it there? Poverty is rife in Nepal, and the April 2015 earthquake made it all the more pronounced with families losing homes, husbands and livelihoods. This all meant that many families couldn't send their children to school no matter how good the school was. The children were needed for working or fetching water, or the families couldn't afford shoes for the children to walk to school. Global Action Nepal has addressed this by giving small grants to mothers in the local area. This has enabled them to buy goats, or seeds. To rebuild homes or greenhouse tunnels. These small grants, only £5-10, a few trips to Starbucks or Costa to us, meant the world to the community. It has enabled them to lift themselves out of poverty, to be independent and strong, and to send their children to school to get an education. The thing it has also given them is pride and happiness. Coming from a place of privilege I have always lived with guilt. The guilt of knowing I have more than others, but that I'm not willing to give it all up and share it out fairly and equally. I've always assumed that these "charity cases" will be downtrodden and depressed, and if I'm honest, depressing. I've not done a great deal of charitable tourism for exactly these reasons. What I discovered on project day that these women were amazing. They were inspiring. They had lived through hell and with only a tiny amount of assistance they had come through the other side smiling, and giving. These women refused to allow us to leave without sharing their meagre food & drink with us, and it was delicious, a meal I will never forget. Impact Marathons & Global Action Nepal have had a huge impact on the lives of these communities, and these communities have in turn had a huge impact on me. Children are receiving a quality education, women are living independent lives, and I have become a much more generous soul. I'm also living guilt free, both proud and grateful for everything I have, and very much looking forward to my next bit of responsible, charitable, travel. The impact has extended even further than that though. My experiences have changed me, and since my return I have been evaluating my life choices much more closely. With that in mind I have now left the construction industry to become a lecturer. As Mandela said, "education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world".
It has been a long time since I wrote a blog post for my 1000 mile challenge. Not in fact since my very first run of the 1000, the Nepal Marathon. I haven't written because I felt like I haven't been achieving very much & I've been feeling a bit down about it. After the marathon I let myself have a bit of down time. As a family we ran a Santa Dash together - as you can see from the photo! We all had a wonderful time, and Meredith amazed us by running nearly 2km! Then Christmas was quickly upon us, and the cold, dark, wet weather of British winters. The appeal of pyjama time with the family was much stronger than the draw of running shoes. I figured I was ahead by having started with the marathon; it was time to relax. Then I got a cough, nothing major, but enough to be another reason not to run. Since then the lack of motivation has dragged on somewhat... Fast forward to now and rather than the 19 miles per week I need in order to achieve 1000 miles, I'm averaging only 9 miles per week. Not ideal. It means I am currently over a quarter of the way through the year (as I started from the Nepal Marathon, not from January 1st) and I've run less than 150 miles. This week though, I have been inspired. This week I'm going to a fundraising dinner, which has been instigated by an old friend of mine; Roger. I knew Roger's plan was to get all the old crowd together to shake them down for a bit more sponsorship, but what I hadn't quite realised was that Roger is paying for everyone's meal, and asking that in return the attendees sponsor me instead. This incredible act of generosity has really got me fired up. It's reminded me of how wonderful people can be, and it has got me back into my trainers despite the dark, and the cold, and the rain. This week, for the first time since I ran the marathon, I will be running more than my 19 mile target. I will be starting to catch up my losses. All because of the inspiration of friendship. I'm even planning on running the 7 miles to the fundraising dinner tomorrow! I'm actually starting to feel excited about this challenge again, which makes me very happy, and very very grateful. If Roger's amazing generosity has inspired you to be amazing, or the struggle I'm having has made you feel pity, you can always donate here. The 26th of November 2016 was a pretty special day. That day;
We woke at 5:45am, in a scout tent, in the rolling mist before sunrise, at an altitude of 1900m. We clambered, bleary eyed, into our running gear in the light of a single solar lantern, shadows looming across the chilly tent as we hunted for socks, electrolyte tablets, and all the other bits and pieces which had escaped from our neatly laid out clothing piles. At the mess hall there was porridge, bananas, eggs and toast. We ate as much as we could manage, and watched the sunrise over Kathmandu valley. We filled water bottles, went for last-chance-wees and then walked *down* the hill to the UN parade ground that was to be the start & finish line.
It took us over 7.5 hours to complete the race (official times still pending), which whilst it meant we weren't running quickly, it posed a challenge in itself as constant exercise for that length of time is massively depleting, and we weren't really fuelled or supplied well enough for it. And for those of you who think 7.5 hours is slow (which it is, I'm not going to argue that!), to give you a little perspective, the winner of the race took 4 hours and he can run a 'normal' marathon in something like 2.5 hours. Anyway, slow or not, I was still absolutely over the moon to have completed the marathon. It felt like an absolutely epic achievement. It was even more special to me though because my husband James ran beside me all the way, and we crossed the line hand in hand - a wedding anniversary we shall never forget! Here we are celebrating with a beer: And that was just the first 26.2 miles of my 1000 mile challenge! I hope the next 973.8 miles are a little easier!
If you think that challenge deserves a little celebration, then perhaps you would like to sponsor me. The minimum amount on Just Giving is only £2, so maybe skip a beer or a coffee once this week and donate to Global Action Nepal to celebrate with me instead: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Chloe1000 When I told James that we'd won a week in Nepal, I'm pretty sure he imagined we'd be visiting temples, doing some sight seeing, maybe a bit of adventure sports or a safari. What I doubt he had in mind is what I dragged the poor blighter into. Of our 5 full days in Nepal, 2 of them were spent digging, laying & burying a 5km pipeline to provide a safe, clean, reliable water supply to Kakani - the village we were to run through on the Nepal marathon. It was incredibly hard graft, using only traditional hand tools - the only things available in rural Nepal! The team included around 80 runners, as well as the Nepalese Armed Police Force who have a local training ground, and the villagers. Notably almost all the villagers helping were female, and they were rela powerhouses - another reason the Nepalese women have become a true inspiration to me! [Read my last blog post if that's news to you]. Here I am with my new Nepalese friends: The route went through forests, under roads, down cliffs and generally through some very inaccessible areas. There were terrifying moments when you were convinced you were going to slide/fall down the moment and indeed a couple of people did - thankfully no-one came to any harm though. It was an amazing project to be part of though. Working alongside the runners, police and villagers created a real sense of community, culture and fun. As well as working very hard to achieve something outstanding there was also a lot of dancing and cheering. It was laborious and I still have blisters more than two weeks on, but thinking about it brings an absolutely massive smile to my face. The very talented Ben Arthur made a short film of it. See if you can spot James & I in our Cundall '40' t-shirts: We all know we're privileged. We know that there are lots of people out there with way less than us. Our mothers even used them against use in that childhood battleground of the dining table; "there are starving children in Africa you know! They'd eat that cabbage and be grateful!". But despite the fact that we are all very aware of our privilege it doesn't stop any of us, myself very much included, wanting more, not appreciating what we have, and being grumpy about tiny things like train delays, IT issues and Christmas bonuses. Going to Nepal was eye opening. Yes, I knew I was privileged and that these people had less. Yes I knew they'd been through trying times with poverty and the earthquake. That's exactly why I was fundraising, running and giving my time. What, and yes I am aware this is a massive cliché but it's true none-the-less, I learnt in Nepal really was about embracing, enjoying, and being proud of what you have. On our 1st full day in Nepal James & I woke early, and with the rest of the Global Action Nepal supporters we had an exciting taxi journey through Kathmandu to Shree Chuni Devi Lower Secondary School. We were welcomed by the children with flowers & blessings, shown around the school and treated to a traditional Nepalese dance show. The school was damaged in the April 2015 earthquake & GAN have supported the rebuild process and provided rainwater harvesting & filtration so the school has a water supply. The school, its staff, and the children were all wonderful and incredibly welcoming. What really amazed me though was the women. I didn't realise, but GAN don't just support the schools themselves, but the communities surrounding them. It's this holistic approach that really increases school attendance and retention rates so that far more children have access to education. In this case the women had been suffering extreme poverty, or in the earthquake they had lost their homes, husbands or livelihoods. GAN had given them grants. Tiny amounts of money to us, five or ten pounds at most. With that money they had been able to buy seeds to grow vegetables, or construction materials for their homes or vegetable tunnels, or they had bought livestock like a goat or some chickens. These small changes had returned these women to self-sufficiency, meaning they were then able to reliably feed their children, and send them to school. These women were awesome, in the strictest sense of the word. They had nothing. They had lost everything. Now they had just enough to scrape by, and they were so cheerful. So strong, and proud, and so generous. They insisted on preparing some of their own sourfruit with chilli, salt & sugar for us to try, and it was delicious. It tasted of spice, freedom, happiness & hard earned pride. If these women can be so full of smiles in the circumstances they are in, then I can certainly be more cheerful about any circumstance I find myself in. They have taught me that.
And if they can be so kind and sharing when they have so little then we can perhaps all dig a little deeper with our own generosity. And just in case this post has inspired your own generosity, I am still fundraising here.
Tomorrow we fly to Nepal, and a week today we'll be running the marathon there. Time is up for training, I've had all the opportunities for distance runs that I'm going to have. It hasn't been easy, trying to fit in marathon training around parenting and working. Particularly for a marathon which came as something of a surprise! In many ways it would have been better to fit in more training than I have, but none-the-less I'm still proud of what I have managed. The longest run I've done so far is 18 miles;
That leaves me ~8 miles of uncharted territory which I'll have to experience for the first time ever on the big day. It's a bit of a daunting prospect, especially when there will also be the new experiences of altitude (the run is at around 200om), and extreme elevation gain (the run is the equivalent of doing Ben Nevis twice!). All that said though, I'm looking forward to it in a strange sort of way. I know it's going to be hard, but I have 8 hours in which to complete it, and I know the experience, scenery, and sense of achievement are all going to be absolutely incredible! It's also good to know that all the time spent training, and all the pain and hardship on the day is raising money for such a wonderful cause.
At the time of writing the fundraising total was up to £1334.82, which is almost enough for Global Action Nepal to build a complete classroom, including teacher training, library book, school bags, furniture and rainwater harvesting! It's not too late to add to that total though, so think of me in a week, struggling up mountains and see if you can spare the loose change from down the back of the sofa x
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Today a rather wonderful thing happened. Today my lovely workplace Cundall donated £500 to match the £500+ sponsorship I've raised so far. A five hundred pound donation, that really is something! So firstly, thank-you ever so much to Cundall for their generosity!
Secondly, it looks like I need a new fundraising target; I need to stretch my goals not just in running it seems! To come up with a fundraising target with a purpose I spoke to the UK representative of Global Action Nepal to find out exactly what all of this sponsorship buys; £10 buys a schoolbag for life £40 buys 50 books for a school library £75 pays for a teacher to be trained over the course of a year £300 pays for a small rainwater harvesting kit which protects school buildings and provides clean drinking water £750 will kit out a primary school classroom (paint, carpets, furniture, shoe racks, books) Putting all of this together, a brand new classroom for 30 children costs £1465, which is what my new target will be. And that new classroom may look a little something like this: It’s my birthday on Thursday, and in the spirit of training for a marathon and running 1000 miles, I’m getting up super early to fit a run in before I head to work. Since I want to celebrate my birthday by going out for dinner with my 3 year old (who likes an early night), I’m going to need to leave work early too, so when I say super early, I really do mean it. Here’s my timeline for the day: It turns out that marathon training takes rather a lot of dedication! So, if you’d like to help me celebrate my birthday, I would really really love it if you could sponsor me. If you’d have bought me a pint then please make your way to Just Giving & send your pint money to Nepal, it’ll put a birthday smile on my face….and I’ll need it after getting up at 5am to run!
Honestly…the things I do to squeeze a bit of extra sponsorship out of you guys…5am…*mutter mutter mutter* I was phoned recently by Impact Marathons to see if I had any questions about my trip to Nepal, about visas, vaccinations or anything else. Knowing that I’m going to the back end of beyond to help remote, and in some cases poverty stricken, communities, I asked if there was anything I could bring with me to donate. I imagined I might be told crayons for the school we’d be building. Or sanitary towels for the women and girls for whom we are championing equality. Something I could pop to the shops on the way to the airport and pick up in bulk. Little did I expect the answer to be running shoes. Second hand running shoes thankfully, as running shoes are not cheap things to buy, but none the less…running shoes. It took me by surprise. I suppose that’s a bit of my ingrained prejudice speaking; “these people need simple, cheap things to make their lives better, not the same expensive technical things as I need”. Then, moment of unconscious bias beaten down, I thought about it a bit more. Of course running shoes are needed, everyone deserves access to sport. Sport keeps people healthy. Sport builds and strengthens communities. Sport also gives you opportunities outside of the communities you live in. Even more than that though, when you live in the middle of nowhere, without a car or bike, running to the market or the next village can save an awful lot of time! Running shoes though, are not readily available in your corner shop, and even if they were they’re very expensive to buy when new. For those of us living a comfortable lifestyle of privilege here in the UK though we frequently chuck out our running shoes because we’ve done a few hundred miles in them, or because the latest model has come out, or even because we’ve quit running. So in many of our homes there are a fair few pairs consigned to the back of wardrobes or dumped in the dust of the cupboard under the stairs.
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AuthorChloe is running 1000 miles to raise money for Global Action Nepal. She's also an engineer and a Mum. Archives
August 2017
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