Irish Community & Culture
Warm thanks to Neal from the London Irish Centre charity team.
A chairde,
I have committed to run the London Marathon on April 22 to raise funds for the London Irish Centre Charity. The charity provides an invaluable service to many within the London Irish community, in particular the elderly. Any donations towards the marathon appeal is greatly appreciated and will go towards the charity’s wide range of work including supporting the most vulnerable of our fellow Irish men & women.
Best regards,
Neal
50 odd days away from the marathon, I’m very happy to report I’m still on two functioning legs and enjoying the challenge of preparing for my marathon debut. Training commenced in January, upping the mileage as the weeks have gone by.
Recently, it has been more of a diet of ibuprofen, foam rolling and icing of limbs than miles on the road, but the pistons are still firing and the wheels turning.
Early on in my training a running veteran advised my only objective should be getting to the starting line, and this is now my mantra! And while the increase of mileage on the body is tough the positives greatly outweigh the difficulties; the increased energy levels, sense of well being, discipline, focus and anticipation of taking part in a huge event with thousands of others, representing the London Irish Centre.
I’ll be upping the donation drive now, matching the fundraising effort with the training effort, given I’m more and more hopefully of completing the race.
The target is £3,000 and I’m optimistic the amount can be achieved and surpassed. From speaking with Sean Kennedy and his team at the centre, they have lots of great ideas, plans and initiatives to assist and support the Irish community here in London, however, surviving on public funding alone is near on impossible.
Like all charities, donations are it’s lifeblood. Any donations, big or small, are much appreciated.
Go raibh maith agat,
Neal
With less than two weeks to race day, most of the hard work is now done and I’m just looking forward to lining-up with the other runners on Sunday 22 April.
The last number of weeks consisted of the heaviest training load to date. The mileage increased with each run peaking at two runs of 20 odd miles over the last two weekends.
Thankfully the body has responded positively to each increase and I’m pleased to report I’ve finished running (slowly) on all of my long runs so far.
While I’ll be entering the unknown from mile 22 to the 26.2, I’m hoping the crowd and good preparations will get me home. The good preparations will include stretching, attempting yoga, volumes of water and some shorter runs to stay sharp next week. Hopefully this will leave me cherry ripe.
The plan on the day itself is stay calm and keep running! Fingers crossed the weather plays ball and stays calm also. A windy day would add another layer of difficulty.
The donations have picked up recently and many thanks to anyone who has contributed. Hopefully the target will be achieved as the day gets nearer.
Finally, I’d like to thank the team at the London Irish Centre Charity for giving me this opportunity to represent them. My marathon effort pales in comparison to the effort that takes place in the centre daily.
Thanks,
Neal.
