So it’s official – I am running the London Marathon 2017.
This has been a bit of a covert plan – I didn’t even tell Angela that I had applied until things got more definite (she’s an established runner and I wanted to be sure) so this may all come as a surprise to some of you. But I now have a place and will be running for the charity Ambitious About Autism, a charity that is very close to my heart and that of my family; more about that in another post but basically they are lovely and awesome people who don’t squander cash on fancy offices etc and definitely don’t own any yachts or even have Xboxes in their offices…
So, those of you that know me probably wonder what the hell I am doing? I can just see the thought bubbles as I start to publicise this: “First he becomes a football coach, now the London Marathon. What is this reinvention? This is the guy that was more comfortable as a kid learning about nuclear bunkers and London flood defences and programming his Sinclair Spectrum. As a teenager only seen in the local park drinking strong lager and in his 20-30s working hard to avoid all forms of physical activity whilst maintaining a plus-30 BMI. What in sweet Jesus’s name is going on?”
It’s true, I’ve flirted very subtly with physical activity all my life. I’m not really wired for competitive sport and I never really saw the need to be out doing solitary sporting activities. I have of course done the odd bit of exercise from time-to-time; I had a membership to a very expensive gym in Canary Wharf at one point which, I worked out to my horror, cost me around £200 a visit, due to the membership duration to workout ratio. I’ve been no stranger to the joys of pounding the streets whilst the air is still fresh and the pavements damp, whilst the day still smells new and the sun starts to light up the surroundings in the way it can only before 7am. I’ve had that endorphin rush post-exercise – I’ve been addicted to it. But like any addiction it can, and did, fade.
But now I’m 43 and I want to be around for my kids beyond 52 which is when my dear Dad left us. I want to know I’ve got more than 9 years left. I want to see my kids grow up and, ideally, meet my grandkids. I don’t want Angela to go through what my Mum went through – it might be character building but it ain’t a lot of fun. I need a crazy goal to get myself in shape for the next 50 years, otherwise I won’t do anything and therefore won’t be around for long. I like to think I’m of reasonable intelligence – I can drive a computer and co-own a fairly successful international business – but like I said, there is some dodgy wiring when it comes to the exercise circuitry so I need to kickstart that aggresively.
I also want to give something back. We’ve had the roller coaster ride (in the true sense of the word with extreme joys and some pain) of having an autistic child. Despite what a lot of people think, it’s mostly great now and Charlie is a near-constant source of pride and joy to us, but a lot of that is down to the help and support from some amazing people. Now it’s time to pay it forward.
So that’s my intro. You can learn a bit more here and if so inclined maybe you’d like to sponsor me. This is what it’s mainly about after all. I need £2K in sponsorship otherwise this is going to be a rather expensive day out – and the charity would appreciate the cash too!
Thanks for reading and I hope to blog on a fairly regular basis.
