Midas Marathon - Running for Help for Heroes

0 notes

Soapathon Eve

Friends & Supporters,

 

Time waits for no man, and it seems only a blink of an eye ago that I came up with the inventive notion of running between each of Britain’s favourite soap operas. Where this moment of madness inspiration came from I’m not altogether sure, but there’s no turning back now! I’m just grateful there are no mainstream soap operas in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland!

 

So tomorrow morning I’ll begin my journey by limbering up on Albert Square; complete my carb-loading in the Queen Vic; then leave Walford for the North (Dum dum dum dum dum dumdumdumdah) - running a couple of hundred miles before reaching Emmerdale’s home near Harrogate on Tuesday. That will leave me with a mere 100 miles to cover as I venture across the Pennines to Manchester and Corrie’s cobbled streets. Finally next Thursday I’ll complete the concluding marathon and a half finishing in Hollyoaks on the outskirts of Liverpool. I’m hoping there’ll be a pint with my name on it in The Dog!

 

I have somehow managed to contrive a schedule which sees me running 80 miles in a single day / night as I cross the hilliest part of the route. Well, where would be the fun in making it too easy?! And although it’s hilly and will be dark, I’m hoping to avoid any cliff-hangers! Anyway, if anyone fancies joining me for the stretch across Saddleworth Moor, then bring a torch and some warm clothes and I’ll see you up there about 03:00 next Wednesday morning.

I’m contemplating a hop-athon in 2014…

It would seem that my springtime scheduling has proved somewhat optimistic. I was hoping for pleasant warm sunshine with perhaps a gentle cooling breeze. Seemingly instead I’m set for biting northerly winds and rain - with the outside chance of snow on higher ground! That’s about as welcome as Jeremy Clarkson at a Mumsnet coffee morning!

On Monday I had my final pre-run pep-talk. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the opening of the Help for Heroes recovery centres at Tedworth House by HRH the Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince Harry. It was a privilege to join not only two of the senior Royals (and serving members of HM Armed Forces) but so many of our heroes who have made such sacrifices on our behalf. The facilities and infrastructure at Tedworth are truly impressive, providing vital support to our young servicemen and women as they come to terms with their injuries and start to rebuild their lives.

Brothers in arms…

It is important to recognise the many years, sometimes a lifetime, it takes for recovery and rehabilitation. In the words of the Duke:

“Those journeys of recovery will be cut short, unforgivably, if we as a nation unfix our attention. We must not let the wounded men and women of our Armed Forces down. This official opening is therefore, I hope, as much a renewed pledge by all of us to go on supporting those who have sacrificed so much, as it is a celebration of an amazing achievement.”

Indeed in the past few weeks we have seen once again the return of coffins draped in Union Flags and seriously wounded soldiers to our hospitals. The war in Afghanistan may slowly be reaching its conclusion but the dangers are far from removed. 444 of our service personnel have now made the ultimate sacrifice since operations began in Afghanistan.

Sadly, we learned yesterday that it isn’t just in the badlands of Afghanistan that our troops put themselves at risk. A horrific, barbaric act of extreme cowardice on the streets of our capital has shocked us all. Abhorrent images that have been seared into our minds and consciousness.

So with recent memories at the forefront of my mind, I will pull on my Help for Heroes running vest tomorrow with a sense of pride and purpose and will set off on my longest run to date. 300 miles is too daunting to think about. I just need to break it down to 1 small step at a time. And then repeat…about 600,000 times!

 

To support me further, please share this note with others who may be prepared to offer their own support.

 

If you would like to donate then please just click the bear! 

 

-To donate click here-

Best wishes,

 

Richard


Richard Kell
Midas Marathon

 

Soapathon | 24th -30th May 2013 | 300 miles from Eastenders to Hollyoaks via Emmerdale & Corrie!

 

Donate:    http://www.justgiving.com/MidasMarathon
OR TEXT KELL99 (£10, £5, £3, £2, or £1) to 70070 - Your text is free!

0 notes

Soapathon Progress Update 2

Friends & Supporters,

 

The tragic events in Boston touched the whole world. A marathon is a positive and uplifting experience for everyone involved. Families and friends enjoying a fun day out to cheer their loved ones on; runners striving to reach their goals; strangers supporting all those taking part. But on a pleasant spring day at one of the world’s great marathons that unifying spirit was broken.

 

Momentarily.

 

Seldom are the contrasts of good and evil in such close proximity. As runners, and part of a global running community this act of acute cowardice will serve to reinforce and motivate. London was a testament to that – not to mention the many other smaller marathons which have successfully taken place in the last couple of weeks. Runners standing and racing together united. The crowds lining the streets in record numbers.

 

Despite the devastation in Boston, the terrorists have already been beaten.

 

Personally, one of my goals for next year will be to run the 2014 Boston marathon – not such a small feat, as just to get to the start line of what is an ‘elite’ race I will have to achieve a GFA (good for age) qualifying time by running more than 15 minutes quicker than my marathon PB. That means knocking 40 seconds off every mile over the race distance. That’s not easily done. But do it I will.

 

Bostonians standing firm since 1773…

 

 

 

Anyway back to my Soapathon preparation. There are just 3 weeks to go and I’ve been busier than Kim Jong Un’s pizza delivery boy. Running 300 miles will seem like a walk in the park compared to the countless hours of pre-race logistical preparation, fundraising requests and general awareness raising I’ve undertaken.

Then of course there’s the small matter of mental and physical training for a 300 mile run. My psychiatrist says I’m ready and my increased training schedule has left me with a bigger appetite than Luis Suarez – though I’ve yet to nibble on a fellow athlete! I’ve certainly built greater stamina than Mo Farrah – he showed up for London, pocketed a small fortune and didn’t even finish the race! Less Mobot and more Moneypot! Ok I am feeling a touch cynical, and ready to embrace my fickleness if he wins it next year!

Mo couldn’t quite believe how much he was being paid to run just 13 miles…

 

 

 

The Manchester marathon was the perfect warm up event at the end of April. Not quite on London’s scale - but starting and finishing as it did at Old Trafford it was one not to miss! To be at the home of the (freshly crowned for the 20th time) Champions of England is always a special feeling. And for once the weather in Manchester wasn’t wet.

My running legs didn’t let me down and spurred on by a hugely enthusiastic crowd I managed a new PB of 3:20:18 – just 5:18 off the Boston qualifying mark.

My running attire was a real crowd pleaser…

 

 

 

So not long now until my Soapathon starts. A terrifying and exciting prospect! But the motivation continues to be to help provide meaningful and long term provision for those brave souls who’ve made such incredible sacrifices. Help for Heroes continues to fight for those who have served our country to ensure they get the best possible backing, for the rest of their lives. We can all play a part in ensuring that support continues.

 

You’ve already been so very generous, but given that we’ve avoided the triple dip recession, and the economy is rapidly heading towards boom territory, then please feel free to give me some further encouragement….!

 

-To donate click here-

Best wishes,

 

Richard


Richard Kell
Midas Marathon

 

Soapathon | 24th -30th May 2013 | 300 miles from Eastenders to Hollyoaks via Emmerdale & Corrie!

Donate:    http://www.justgiving.com/MidasMarathon
OR TEXT KELL99 (£10, £5, £3, £2, or £1) to 70070 - Your text is free!

Phone:      07901 000729 or 01462 670202

E-mail:      Richard@Midasmarathon.com


Web:        www.MidasMarathon.com & www.Soapathon.com


Facebook: www.facebook.com/midasmarathon

Facebook: www.facebook.com/soapathon


Twitter:    www.twitter.com/midasmarathon
Twitter:    www.twitter.com/soapathon

 

 

 

 

0 notes

Soapathon - Progress Update

Dear Friends & Supporters,

 

Happy Easter!

 

It’s less than 2 months ‘til the start of my Soapathon and my plans are taking shape. Access to the 4 Soap sets has been agreed – though I’ve yet to get an on-screen run-on appearance scripted!

 

My route and schedule is continuing to give me headaches – I have about as much confidence in it as I have in the Cypriot banking system! Indeed the persisting difficulties for the Euro have continued to unsettle and keep me awake at night. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse I discover Bonnie Tyler is representing the UK at Eurovision. Haven’t we all suffered enough already?!

 

And is a shrieky Welsh geriatric really the best the UK has to offer? Her last major hit was in 1984. To put that in perspective, other artists at the top of their game in 1984 included Jimmy Savile, Jim Davidson, and Gary Glitter… Just saying.

Holding out for a pension…

Anyway, I digress. Back to the running!

 

I’ve also had a setback on the celebrity endorsement front. I was hoping to reveal that one of the stars of London 2012 would be joining me on my run…but some alleged misdemeanours involving a cricket bat and shotgun seemed to have put paid to that.

 

But on a more positive note the budget has helped us endurance athletes with a carb-heavy diet requirement. There is no better way of taking on carbs than supping a healthy pint or two…and George Osborne’s ‘Buy 300-get-1-free’ special offer was a real bonus.

 

The training never stops (only 298 to go)…

Surprisingly, I have found time to run half a dozen races since the turn of the year including the 45 mile Country to Capital; the 4 Marathons in 4 days Quadzilla and today’s Delapre marathon. It’s not been a whole lotta fun of late training in the permafrost of Hertfordshire. It was another double glove and hat run today on what’s supposed to be the first day of British Summer!

I was taking the Easter Egg hunt very seriously…

Just 7 weeks left for me to get fit and ready – that probably necessitates a bit more time on the roads and a bit less time in the pub! A small sacrifice to make compared to those putting themselves in harms way day after day. Help for Heroes continues to battle to ensure those who have served our country get the best support, for the rest of their lives.

 

Once again, if you could share this blog as widely as possible it would be appreciated. I’ve also attached my publicity poster, feel free to print and adorn your homes, offices and other public spaces with it!

Richard

Richard Kell
Midas Marathon
Soapathon | 24th -30th May 2013 | 300 miles from Eastenders to Hollyoaks via Emmerdale & Corrie!

0 notes

Introducing The Soapathon

Dear Friends & Supporters,

Happy New Year!

So I know 12% of recipients will already have deleted this, and 23% more will do so before getting to the end, but for those still reading, who have the wisdom and intellect to take a more considered approach, could I ask you to bear with me and then to forward to as many of your friends, colleagues, associates and acquaintances as possible!

Anyway, I’m back after my rest, more charged than the Duracell bunny and raring to go!

2012 gave us a year of unprecedented British sporting success. We triumphed at the Olympics and Paralympics. Europe produced a golfing comeback even Lazarus wouldn’t have dared contemplate. We saw a first British male tennis Grand Slam success in about a billion years, and England’s cricketers produced a historic series win in India. Wiggins stunned the world of cycling by winning The Tour de France without being high as a kite, and Rory’s PGA success saw him finish the year as the World’s best golfer. We won’t talk about the football. Sadly we were denied even more sporting success due to the dramatic last minute cancellation of the World Conker Championships – due to high winds. Tickets are still available for 2013 –should be unmissable stuff!

Jess - Turning Sheffield steel into gold..!


For many last year’s achievements mark a high-tide for British sporting success which we may never see repeated. I respectfully disagree. 2013 will see us beat the Aussies to retain the Ashes; Man United crowned Kings of Europe; The Lions running rampant down under; more joy on the bikes in France… and who knows a British victor at the World Conker Championships. We can but dream.

For some reason this picture always makes me smile…(Ricky, gone but never forgotten)


With all that sporting success already guaranteed, my own ambition is to take it easy, kick back and get stuck into Britain’s 4 favourite Soaps…

Or at least I’m going to run between them! Starting from Elstree and Eastenders, I’m running the 300ish miles to Hollyoaks (Liverpool) stopping off in Emmerdale (Harrogate), and then Corrie (Manchester) on the way.

I defy anyone to tell me that it’s not a good storyline…there’ll be a few twists and turns, some cliff-hangers (actually I hope not!) or maybe I’ll find myself showering at the end realising it was all just a dream!

Becoming a couch potato…


So 4 months of intense training lie in front of me – starting with January’s traditional Country to Capital 45 miler next Saturday.

I’m hoping toget as much publicity as possible so would be grateful if you can forward this e-mail as widely as possible. You’ve already been so generous in your support, but if anyone wants to do even more then you know what to do!


-To donate click here-

Best wishes,

Richard

Richard Kell
Midas Marathon
Soapathon | 24th -30th May 2013 | 300 miles from Eastenders to Hollyoaks via Emmerdale & Corrie!
Donate: http://www.justgiving.com/MidasMarathon
OR TEXT KELL99 (£10, £5, £3, £2, or £1) to 70070 - Your text is free!
Phone: 07901 000729 or 01462 670202
E-mail: Richard@Midasmarathon.com
Tumbler (Photos & News): http://midasmarathon.tumblr.com/

0 notes

2013’s big challenge is a 300 mile soap-inspired run. Setting out from the Eastenders set at Elstree on 24th May, I will be running North to Yorkshire to visit Emmerdale then will head West to drop-in on Weatherfield and Corrie, before completing my run in Hollyoaks on 30th May… Hopefully for a well-earned pint in The Dog!

2013’s big challenge is a 300 mile soap-inspired run.

Setting out from the Eastenders set at Elstree on 24th May, I will be running North to Yorkshire to visit Emmerdale then will head West to drop-in on Weatherfield and Corrie, before completing my run in Hollyoaks on 30th May…

Hopefully for a well-earned pint in The Dog!

0 notes

Progress Update - Final Edition

Dear Supporters,
After nearly 3 years and more than 50 marathons and ultras the time has come to take a break. My body’s aches and pains have become more intense and I need some time to recharge my batteries and recover my fitness. With your tremendous support I’ve raised well over £20,000 for Help for Heroes. Whilst it’s some way short of my original goal, it’s a significant sum which is making a real difference in helping our heroes – Thank you. So this is my last update for the time being at least.
But I wanted to go out on a ‘high’ – which brings me to July’s Grim Reaper.
Sometimes a race name exaggerates it’s toughness. ‘Grim Reaper’ though flagrantly understated what lay in wait. Running 100 miles on one of the wettest July days in UK history presented me with an immense challenge…
It seemed a good idea at the time…


There was some drizzle, which developed into rain, then harder rain, and sideways rain. It rained solidly for more than 20 hours. On a positive note, once wet to the bone it matters little as there’s no getting any wetter. Briefly - just very briefly - there were some overcast conditions in the middle of the night where precipitation levels were almost zero! Of course that did little to help the underfoot conditions. There was a stretch which should have been a pleasant run through a wooded field. Instead it was a wade through a bog. Frozen wet feet for the best part of a day is not to be recommended! I’m not sure I quite developed trench foot but I came close! It was a fortnight after the race before my toes had stopped tingling. I’m still waiting for the webbing and scales to disappear!
Anyway I was making reasonable progress. At least to start with. I was leading the 100 mile event after 10 miles (always feeling like a hare with a bunch of tortoises behind me) and was still 2nd after 40 miles, going on to reach the half way point in around 9 and a half hours. Respectable enough considering the conditions – and I was ahead of nearly the whole field doing the shorter 40 and 70 mile routes.
The ‘official’ team photo - Looking a little wet and miserable before we’d even started…
But first my right, then my left hip let me down again. My running soon became restricted to a few short paces at a time. I was getting ever slower. The pain and fatigue grew as I soldiered on through the night. My iPod had long since died and when my watch too gave up the ghost, I had no real way of knowing just how ponderous my progress was. My body and mind was being frequented by a maelstrom of suffering. My eyes were playing tricks on me too. The head torch I was sporting was making little impression against the darkness. Shadows and trees were ‘becoming’ people and objects. I was seeing things that just weren’t there. I’m not sure whether I was hallucinating but it all seemed very real. Perhaps the LSD wasn’t such a great idea after all!
The first 10 miles, before the rain really set in…
Churchill (our greatest ever PM, not the dog) once said something about never, never, never giving up. Over the years I’ve replayed those words countless times in my mind when the going’s got tough and they’ve helped me through some taxing situations (not in a Jimmy Carr kind of way I hasten to add).
Not this time though. By about mile 85 I’d accepted I couldn’t take any more. I was barely even managing to walk - stopping every few paces, forlornly trying to stretch muscles that had long since ceased to respond to my instructions. As much as I was trying to fight it, the pain was winning and the exhaustion was overwhelming. I was beaten. I resolved to struggle through to the 90 mile checkpoint before calling it a night - technically I think dawn had just about arrived but it was hard to tell through the mist and drizzle!
With my bed (or at least car seat) in sight I was passed by a fellow struggler. “How far you got left?” he enquired.
“Ten more” I responded, “but I’m done, I can’t go on”
“Don’t be daft, you can’t stop after 90 miles, you can’t quit now. Just get round the last 10. Do what you’ve got to do…you’ve still got plenty of time…”
He was of course right. My motivation and willpower was begrudgingly restored. Those last 10 miles took me 4 hours 40 minutes. Every single step hurt like hell, but I knew every step was taking me one pace closer to my goal. I was joined for the final few yards by Alan and Liz - my 9Bar support crew who also kept me going – I can’t thank them enough.
Just about holding back the tears my ordeal was over after 25 hours
49 minutes. I was the last of the field to complete the race – though of the 20 starters only 11 of us went the full distance. I was wet and cold, battered and broken. I attempted the drive home, completing about 3 miles before I had to pull over to the side of the road for some much needed sleep.
I was completely spent.
Back to the underlying source of my motivation. Another 3 heroes were tragically killed this past month – all shot by an Afghan policeman – the very people we’re there to help. A sad waste of 3 more young lives.
The total number of UK military deaths since the Afghanistan campaign started in 2001 now stands at 422. A great many more have suffered severe life changing injuries. I guess in time we might come to understand whether the fight has been worthwhile. That’s for the historians to decide. What’s indisputable is the enormous sacrifice so many of our young men and women have paid. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten. Our support for those wounded will be required for the rest of their lives.

My Just giving page will remain active for some time yet -To support click here- please feel free to pay it a final visit!

I will be back, but time now for me to put up my feet, rebuild my fitness and come back stronger with something very special in 2013.
That’s a promise!

Thanks againfor all your support.

Best wishes,
Richard
Richard Kell
Midas Marathon

0 notes

Progress Update - June 2012

Dear Supporters,
So, hasn’t it
been another good week for us bankers?! Even Jimmy Carr’s finished the week looking comparatively saintly! Apparently it appears that you really aren’t better off talking to Barclays…and I’m not so convinced about the helpfulness of those bankers at NatWest any more! It wasn’t like this in the good old days….I still remember when the most sinister thing about banking was Howard from the Halifax!
But we are short of role models….David Cameron’s been demonstrating just why he may not be the bookies’ favourite to win ‘Father of the Year’. We’ve all done it… Had one glass too many and left the keys, a phone or a jacket in the pub. I’m sure it’s also easy to forget your 8-year old daughter when there are so many other important affairs of state to consider….Although I hear he was busy chillaxing with a game of Fruit Ninja on his I-pad. LOL!
Elsewhere the EURO 2012 tournament is about to reach its climax. Once again a plucky bunch of overpaid English prima donnas has come up short! And whilst the Scots were dancing in the streets, the rest of the country should rejoice in our abject failure too. Let me remind you… The winners in 2004 were Greece. In 2008 it was Spain. It’s a sure fire recipe for financial disaster. Meanwhile the Germans have won nothing for 16 years! George Osborne is the most relieved man in Britain following our exit…although by tomorrow he may well have had a change of heart and be devastated by it. He used to be so decisive… now he’s just not so sure! The cut in fuel duty is very welcome
Anyway, I’m hoping for a German victory on Sunday! Or perhaps not…Mrs Merkel will be pleased!
Back to the running! This month I’ve been busier than Gary Barlow’s accountant. As well as a couple of marathons I’ve had to increase my training schedule to prepare for next month’s 100 mile 24 hour race. I’ve been told I should be put in a straight jacket and padded cell for taking on such things in the first place…. So long as it has Sky Sports and a minibar I’m all ears!
First up in June was the inaugural Kent Roadrunner marathon. 17 loops of the newly constructed Cyclopark near Gravesend. It was touted as something of a quick circuit and it lived up to its billing - allowing me to knock 8 minutes off my PB. So, 3:30:27 was really pleasing…if a touch annoying that I’d fallen just 28 seconds short of my first sub 3:30 finish.
My experimentation with fairy wings is still a work-in-progress…!
Then it was on to the altogether different challenge of England’s second hilliest marathon - South Downs. The elevation gain is 5728 feet! That’s nearly 6 Shards on top of each other! Naturally, what goes up does come down but it’s nevertheless a testing little run through the scenic beauty of the South Downs Way.
Advanced shadow puppetry…

My time was obviously slower than the Roadrunner, but I was even more pleased with a finish of 3:54:10 (74th/565). Getting in the top 20% at my time of life is always an achievement! Though to be fair just waking up each day is something of an achievement!

Sheer grit and determination to beat some random person to the line…(which of course I did… just in case anyone doubted me)!

Sadly 4 more of our heroes have paid the ultimate sacrifice since my update in May. Devastating another 4 families. Not to mention the many others who continue to return with life changing injuries.


-To support click here-

Thank you for reading and your continued support. Please forward to anyone else who may be interested - many thanks!

Best wishes,
Richard
Richard Kell
Midas Marathon
Donate: http://www.justgiving.com/MidasMarathon
OR TEXT KELL99 (£10, £5, £3, £2, or £1) to 70070 - Your text is free!

0 notes

Progress Update - May 2012

Dear Supporters,
It’s been another exciting month in world affairs. BoJo’s been re-elected comedy Mayor of London; the French have chosen a Dutchman as President; shocking partisan voting saw Engelbert humiliated at Eurovision; the pasty tax has crumbled; and almost unnoticed by most commentators the Greek economy has unquestionably restarted. For the first time since Plato was a lad, the Greeks have finally managed to export something. It was only a flame (presumably lit by German matches)…but it is a start!
As the Greeks nudge ever closer to a Euro exit, it looks like my inspired decision to hold onto a 1,000 Drachma note following a holiday to Corfu in the 1990s will soon be rewarded! Not that it was worth much back then to be honest (about a bottle of Amstel from memory)! Given the Greeks introduced the 1,000 Drachma note in 1901…their economic difficulties can be traced back some considerable way. The Greek treasury took the novel step of introducing a 100,000,000,000 note way back in 1944 – interestingly that decision was influenced by German foreign policy too!
The Drachma. Tasty, low in fat and a good source of fibre…

I took a few weeks off after the MK marathon in April to fix my injury niggles. My body’s been falling apart quicker than a leper at a tug-of-war contest. But the rest hasn’t really worked. I’ve resisted the advice and allure of a cortisone injection in my hip, so I went into the 35 mile Shires and Spires on Sunday still nursing a few ‘owies’. Anyway a Nurofen an hour kept the worst of the pain at bay (a touch in excess of the recommended dose, but then very little of what I was doing could safely be encouraged)!

Of more concern was an undulating 35 mile course in searing near 30 degree temperatures. If I’d been on a beach I’d be hunting a beer and some shade. But I was in the heart of Northamptonshire with the nearest coastline 70 miles away…and it was certainly too hot to run that far. The race was going well with me running in and around the top 10 for the first half of it. But then the customary cartographical failures set in (notwithstanding the fact I had completed the same course a couple of years earlier)! It’s a real disappointment to be following other runners to economise on my own map reading efforts, only to find they’ve damned well got lost!! Anyway it meant an extra couple of miles added to the journey, finishing in 6:27:34 (30th= of the 140 starters).

One side effect of a Nurofen overdose is that it dulls the (immediate) effects of sunburn. They fail to mention that on the packaging…and now my legs look like I’ve been paddling at Fukushima!

The others refused to play Shadow puppets with me…

Only one run then for May - but there are some bigger tests on the horizon…In 6 weeks I’ll be running the Grim Reaper Ultra, a 100 mile 24 hour endurance race (a bit like Le Mans without the glamour)! I’m also planning something very special for September! Otherwise I’m toasting the Queen’s 60th with a 26.2 mile run around Kent on Monday.

It’s Grim up North (if indeed Lincolnshire is ‘Up North’)…!

Another 5 brave British heroes have been killed in combat during May. As we celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee this weekend, let’s spare a thought for those fighting for her and our country so many miles from home.


-To support click here-


Thank you for reading and your continued support. Please forward to anyone else who may be interested - many thanks!

Best wishes,
Richard
Richard Kell
Midas Marathon
Donate: http://www.justgiving.com/MidasMarathon
OR TEXT KELL99 (£10, £5, £3, £2, or £1) to 70070 - Your text is free!
Phone: 07901 000729 or 01462 670202
E-mail: Richard@Midasmarathon.com
Web: www.MidasMarathon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/midasmarathon
Twitter: www.twitter.com/midasmarathon

0 notes

Progress Update - April 2012

Dear Supporters,
So, shocking news for me personally this week. Apparently I’m an arrogant posh boy. I really had no idea. I’d have thought someone might have mentioned it before now. But seemingly since I didn’t have a clue what a pint of milk cost then that’s the case.Anyway I’ve had my butler bimble down to Waitrose, and he tells me that a pint of Duchy Originals organic pasteurised semi-skimmed milkis 58 pence. Cheaper than I might have thought…had I ever given it a moments thought!
My other more serious problem over the past few weeks has been the various injury problems that have plagued me. I’ve managed just 2 marathons all month and haven’t trained at all. I’ve had an aching back, ‘broken’ toe, and major hip pain.
My pre-race preparation for the Good Friday Enigma marathon was toasted Hot cross buns followed by a cocktail of ibuprofen and aspirin!
Anyway with more drugs than a Tour de France cyclist, I set out to beat the pain…
I don’t quite know whether the pharmaceuticals had scrambled my thinking or increased my speed, but I inadvertently began at a supersonic pace! The first mile at 6:48mins was never going to be sustainable. Or was it..? I had really increased my training this year…

Leading from the front. Who said the drugs don’t work…

I may have increased my training, but I hadn’t become Kenyan overnight so ‘no’ was the resounding answer…
I was still leading the race after 8 miles which was something of an achievement – but then the wheels well and truly came off. The folly of my early speed had me doubled in two with the most crippling stitch I’d ever experienced! I struggled for 2 miles to gain a normal breathing rhythm and a semi-decent pace. The drugs were wearing off too, and my hip screamed with pain every stride I took. By mile 18, I was in a world of trouble. To add to my aforementioned back, hip and toe complaints, muscles were seizing up and my running posture had the elegance of a drunken chimpanzee.
Staggering the last few miles I pushed myself as much as I was able, and finished eventually in 
3:38:46 – 8th position. The time was 12 minutes inside my best official time…but it could have been so much quicker!

All because the lady loves Milk Tray…

After my exertions in Bletchley I was temporarily ‘crippled’. I could only climb the stairs on all fours! My hip problem has now been diagnosed as Trochanteric bursitis. It’s not going to kill me, but needs a bit of rest. It meant I sadly had to miss the beautiful sounding Pewsey Downsaround in an attempt to recover.


The ‘rest’ has had it’s chance and hasn’t worked, so I just need to get on with it…


So my other run of the month was the inaugural Milton Keynes marathon (apparently the numerous marathons in nearby Bletchley don’t count). The weather was somewhat typical of these never-ending drought conditions that we’re all having to get used to. I was soaked to the bone before the race had even started. Apparently there was about a month’s worth of rainfall during the day. It felt worse than that due to the driving winds. If Noah had been around today he’d have given up construction of his ark on grounds of health and safety. Despite my continuing injury plight, the cold and wet pushed me on through the pain barrier and I finished in a time of 3:50:31 (687th). The wind and my injury niggles preventing something quicker.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to drink it or swim it…!


Sadly 3 more UK servicemen have been killed in action during April. The total number of military deaths since operations began in Afghanistan now stands at 408. Thousands more have suffered life changing injuries which will stay with them for the rest of their lives. They deserve our continued support and gratitude for the rest of their lives.


 -To donate click here-

As ever thanks for your support, and please forward my note to anyone else who may be interested - many thanks!

Best wishes,
Richard
Richard Kell
Midas Marathon
Donate: http://www.justgiving.com/MidasMarathon
OR TEXT KELL99 (£10, £5, £3, £2, or £1) to 70070 - Your text is free!
Phone: 07901 000729 or 01462 670202
E-mail: Richard@Midasmarathon.com
Web: www.MidasMarathon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/midasmarathon
Twitter: www.twitter.com/midasmarathon
Tumbler (Photos & News): http://midasmarathon.tumblr.com/