Sometime back in December 2011 I remember thinking to myself if I should run 1000km or not. I had two worries which were; Will I have the time and will anyone sponsor me?
I then thought about the reasons I had for taking on 1000km. I wanted to run them simply because I know how hard it is to come to terms with cancer, for an entire family, and how hard it is when someone dies. These are things that happen day to day for people across the world. So I thought if I could just raise some awareness, and a little bit of money at the same time, that would be a very good thing.
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| At the end of my first run |
The circuits.....
Getting motor racing circuits involved was something I was willing to try and achieve. I would like to thank my husband for helping me email and enquire around the circuits. When I was unable to run Spa he who contacted Circuit Zolder, who at the very last minute welcomed us to run the track.
I was so pleased to discover that a lot of circuits were willing to help me out and let me run on their tracks. I would like to thank the following people for their help in this;
Pat Blakenly at Thruxton Motor Circuit, Pascal & Yves at Circuit Zolder, Anne Mich & Suzzane Schmitz at Rad um Run at Nurburgring, Kate Wingfield at Goodwood, Carol Watts at Silverstone, Sarah Thomson at Rockingham Speedway and Jen Darby at Donnington Park.
You are all fantastic people, representing really beautiful circuits. To run on ground where racing legends have been meant so much to me, and my Grandfather would really have marvelled at this.
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| Thruxton |
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| Goodwood |
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| Silverstone |
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| Zolder |
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| Rockingham |
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| The Nurburgring |
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| Donnington |
The hard parts....
Getting the word out to the national audience.....
It was great to have articles written about Challenge 1000 by local and national sources. These include The Bucks Free Press/South Bucks Star, Cookham Crier, The Link Magazine, Lacey Green Windmill, Runners World and MSN Online http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/woman-to-run-1000km-on-racetracks
Thank you to all of the above for your support.
Also a big thank you to my Twitter buddies for RTing my tweets about Challenge 1000, and for their kind sponsorship. I would like to thank Tom Ingram and Jack Goff for helping me to spread the word to their many followers also. Best of luck to you both next year in all your racing ventures :-)
@VictoriaKYoung
How did it end???
Challenge 1000 ended with a 10km run on a dark winters night on Sunday 23rd December. I ran round my local area, which is Cressex in High Wycombe. It was certainly no motor racing circuit, scenic beach or amazing countryside.....but for the final km's it was lovely to finish them back at my front door.
There were no tears or elation.....in fact this feeling is only just happening for me now. All these once in a lifetime experiences have come out of pure hard work and I am so proud of the support I have received.
The result......
£839 at minimum, seeming as people can still sponsor me up until March 2013, will be split 50:50 between Child Bereavement UK and Cancer Research UK. During the time I have been running Child Bereavement UK and Cancer Research UK have seen many positive developments and have helped and supported even more people.
Thank you to all of my sponsors - you have been amazing.
The final plea......Please help me to reach £1000!!!!
If generosity comes into your New Years Resolution if you could help Challenge 1000 reach £1000 so each charity can be awarded £500 I would be most grateful.
Sponsor me via virginmoneygiving.com/Challenge1000
Remember to share the link to my blog with your Facebook friends and your Twitter followers.
