Six Marathons in 9 Months
December 19th, 2008Richard Raw completes his 6th marathon in 9 months, read his latest report, which marks the end of a fantastic acheivement.
Hastings was my final of six full marathons in 2008, run on the 14th of December to mark the centenary of the original Hastings Marathon that had been held in the winter of 1908 shortly after and inspired by the London Olympics of that Edwardian year.
The marathon carried that theme, and was started by their local member of parliament dressed in period attire along with the other dignitaries. I ran the marathon for the charity that was set up by members of my extended family for orphans of aids victims in a small community in Uganda, and have raised more than four hundred pounds thanks to the generosity of all who have sponsored me. This marathon for me was not destined to be a quick one. I had a chest infection and my asthma was troubling me quite a bit. It was probably also one marathon too many for the year if I was being honest, but because I was doing it for charity and because it was a one off centennial celebration marathon I was determined to go ahead with it. I was two minutes down on the first mile that I had posted in the Loch Ness Marathon back in October when I had posted a season’s best and taken half an hour off the time of my first marathon of the year in Rome. My asthma was very bad, and I decided that time was of no importance. I knew that to complete the marathon that I would need to run a steady and at times very difficult marathon. The marathon itself left the town of Hastings on the sea front and headed north through the town of Battle, where the 11th century abbey had been built as penance for the blood that had been spilt during the Battle of Hastings. From there the marathon headed south-westwards back to the seafront and through Bexhill before finishing in Hastings town centre. At five hours and nineteen minutes I was an hour and a minute slower than my previous marathon, but considering that I was suffering from a chest infection and that my asthma was not good, it was a decent effort nonetheless. To get to the finish under those conditions required much inner strength, and I am delighted to have run the full marathon and to have raised so much money for those orphans in Uganda. After running six marathons in a space of nine months, I will now enjoy a three month break from marathon running, and take time to recharge my batteries and get out into the Cheviot hills near my home to build up more fitness for the 2009 season, which begins for me in early March with the Barcelona City Marathon, followed by the Belfast City Marathon in the beginning of May and Edinburgh for which I already have a guaranteed place at the end of May. If you would like to sponsor me for the Good Samaritan (Uganda) Trust which helps those orphans in that Ugandan community you can still do so at www.justgiving.com/richardraw and any donations are received with the upmost of gratitude.
