So... this is the prep for my current sponsorship challenge. I've updated the SPONSOR ME link. Feel free to use it.
I've skipped my last event... the Swedish Icebug Adventure. I'll come back to it, promise. I need to capture this one, it's exciting. A brand new, happening challenge.
You'll remember, if you cast your mind back, that I'd been thinking of this around about last September. I have an allusion previous to that that I'd already spoken to Summer about it, because on my next blog, "with my eyes closed", which was when I went running and got caught out in the dark, I mentioned a part of the track that I'd already practiced, by holding onto Summer and closing my eyes. Much like when you run and just close your eyes for a few seconds, it was hard to keep them closed, and I recall distinctly that I kept veering off, although it didn't feel like it. But last September, I think I mentally committed to the idea, even if it wasn't when I first had it.
So, the idea was, I'd run a half-marathon blindfolded. People have reacted in quite different ways to this. A fair number of people seemed to dismiss it, with a "You're mad". Now, I think they believed I was going to do it, but they didn't think it extraordinary because they had dismissed it as the sort of lunacy that you could come to expect from me. Like, running 40 miles, or something. But as I actually approached this October, I had to make a call on whether or not to do it. I knew that if I didn't do it this year, I probably wouldn't ever commit to it. It may seem like a long gestation period, but the iron was still hot, as far as I was concerned, and it was time to strike. So I started making plans, and as I did so, and they moved into fruition, people started taking me more seriously.
First up was to confirm my guide runner, Summer. I can't really emphasise this enough: it may seem like a stupid notion, and if you are going to do something stupid, surely it doesn't matter who you do it with? But to me, it was always Summer. She's tentatvely agreed way back when I first rolled the idea around, although she had always expressed reservations at the difference in our running speed. "But I'll be blindfolded. I can't run fast if I can't see" I reiterated. She seemed to accept this, but would come back to it from time to time. The thing is, I trust her. I never imagined asking anyone else. It made it seem possible. And she said yes.
Then, there was contacting the charities. The ladies at the regional had given me some contact details, and I rang the Guide Dogs Association. They were pretty upbeat about the idea, and supportive. I thought they might think I was insane, but after we had a chat, and they could tell I'd thought through various issues, they didn't say anything more. They promised to call nearer the time. I ended up emailing the Peterborough Association for the Blind, and I wasn't feeling my most eloquent, but I put in a link to my web page. They seemed happy I'd chosen them, and neither one seemed too miffed that I was splitting my loyalties two ways. I got around to setting up a donations page (just in case you can't find the link at the top of the blog), and found that Virgin Money was the one to go for: for one thing, the Peterborough Association for the Blind weren't linked to Just Giving, and for another, it was much much easier to set up a page donating to two charities (up to five, if you're interested). So I did that.
Finally, I went online, and ordered some printed tabards, for me and Summer, and then, as he'd offered, another one for moustachioed Chris, who said he would run with us and a collecting bucket.
Then, just one more thing left to do... have a practice.
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