Building momentum...

In my last post getting to the start line I set the scene of my 2019 challenge and now I move on to say some more about the charity I am supporting - Kaira Konko Scout Active Support, reflect on the Thames Meander Marathon that I completed in March and look forward to the Vienna Marathon.

Kaira Konko SAS is a Hampshire based charity within Hampshire Scouting.  Since 1989 it has been fundraising to help the people of Soma in The Gambia, West Africa.  My daughter Carmella first became involved with Kaira Konko SAS in 2008.  Then in her second year as a teacher she was thrilled to be given the opportunity by her school, All Saints Junior School in Fleet, to be one of two staff funded to undertake project work in The Gambia during the February half term. 

When I met Carmella on her return it was very evident that she had been inspired by her visit.  This became all the more clear in the following months as I saw her make presentations to the All Saints and wider community about the work she had become involved with.  At least once per year since then Carmella has made self-funded visits to Soma supporting the work of Kaira Konko SAS and fostering links between her school and schools in Soma.  

In 2015 through a successful bid for funding from the British Council she was able to undertake a six week visit to Soma that involved wider outreach work with a number of schools in the area. This marked my previous fundraising support for Kaira Konko SAS which I did in conjunction with running the 2015 Paris Marathon.

I was also able to make my own visit to The Gambia at the end of Carmella’s six week stay and saw for myself examples of how funds raised by Kaira Konko SAS had been used. 

Kaira Konko SAS has:

• ·       Built the Kaira Konko Scout Lodge.
• ·       Built 18 classrooms, a library/resource centre and provided clean drinking water at Soma Lower Basic School.
• ·       Repaired and rebuilt homes.
• ·       Distributed mosquito nets in the community.
• ·       Repaired wells. 
• ·       Provided rice for the poorest families.
• ·       Provided tools and fencing for growing food.
• ·       Sponsored children through school and college.
• ·       Promoted annual visits from Hampshire teachers and other groups who work in local schools and within the community.
• ·       Promoted expeditions of Hampshire Explorer Scouts who fund and implement projects in the community.

 

Carmella’s most recent visit with some of her colleagues involved supporting a school in a more remote area.  They worked on the renovation of the library and supported fundraising for improvement of teacher accommodation at the school.

The work Carmella has done is an inspiration to me in seeking to raise funds for Kaira Konka SAS and has given me an added motivation to raise the bar in terms of the running challenges I have set for myself this year.

I made my last post on the eve of running the Thames Meander Marathon and I am pleased to say that despite a concerted effort by the weather to put me off, I completed it pretty much to target.  I seem to be jinxed by this event as both times I have run it I have found myself running into the face of winds blowing at 40mph plus.  I don’t find this much fun at the best of times let alone in the last 5-10 miles of a marathon! 

On an out and back route the first half (with the wind mainly behind me) seemed pretty good and my heart was telling me that a PB time was a possibility.  Thankfully my head (now with a good few years of running experience) knew otherwise, calculating that the second half was going be pretty tough.  I kept reminding myself that while this was a marathon it was nevertheless meant primarily as a preparation for my main spring event, the Vienna Marathon.  With this in mind, I didn’t castigate myself for taking a few breathers in the final few miles and overall I was pleased to come in with my third fastest marathon time of 3h55m.

So, with the Thames Meander completed I had four weeks to go to prepare for Vienna.  In that time I squeezed in one further 20 mile training run and up until last week I was confident that I was in great condition to have a real go at a PB in Vienna on 7^th April. 

However, one thing with marathons I’ve found is that almost always there’s a twist.  This time it came 10 days before marathon day when on the final lap of a track session I had to pull up with a very nasty pain in my left calf.  The next morning I was really down in the dumps as my calf had stiffened up badly and I was limping around with a very forlorn look on my face.  On a brighter note, by the afternoon it was much improved.  Since then I’ve just done two very modest runs and had lots of rest.  As things stand, I’ve lowered my expectations for Sunday but I think I’m in with a reasonable shout of completing the event even if I have to settle for a less ambitious time. 

I have to remember that there is hopefully much more to come in Challenge 2019 - a lot further to go and hopefully faster!

I am greatly appreciative of the support that has got my fundraising campaign off the ground.  Contributions can be given through my fundraising site: 

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnReece