Fundraising

Matt takes on the Nike 10k run

I am pleased to be able to tell you all that I managed to complete the Nike 10k run without injury or pain. I'm lying, of course. Here's the almost true story.

The Scene

The evening was cold and misty but there was still a good amount of encouraging, vocal support at the start line. The runners, tall and small, fat and thin, fit and unfit, were all excited and raring to go. There were some men with shaved legs, which scared me intensely. Why, guys? It's just plain weird.

The Start

The early pace was quicker than expected but I managed to hang in there with Paula (Radcliff). The first kilometre was over nice and quickly. I was experiencing no knee troubles and, as I ran briskly through Surrey Quays, I was feeling quite sprightly.

The Middle

The pain began here. Tower Bridge was horrible. It has quite a steep little incline, and the challenge of ascending it doubles once a good handful of people have been sick on it. It was all downhill from here (physically I mean, not gradient-wise although, if that had actually been the case I would have been most pleased). I was so hot and thirsty I knew I would have to call on all my reserves that I hoped I had built up during training.

The End

I called on my reserves. No answer. I called again, thinking I mis-dialled. The phone rang and rang and rang but the reserves weren't picking up (you see what I've done there, nice eh?). My reserves had gone out for the evening and hadn't even left a note to tell me where to find them. In fact, I didn't even have the energy to look 'fit' and 'cool' as I crossed the finish line. In fact, I looked so rough even my own mother and sister failed to recognise me..........from just 3 feet away. I failed to spot them as my eyes had glazed over in comatose fashion at the 9km mark.

Despite all this, Paula (Radcliff) and I had still been going stride for stride until the last 100 metres or so, where she faded quite badly.

I finally fell over the finish line in 53 mins, 21 secs.

And Finally

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate your generosity.

Extra special thanks to John and 'big' Dan, my training and race buddies.

Naked sky-diving next! - (by the way Matt we're looking for a company that does that - when we find one we'll let you know - Angie, St Thomas' Lupus Trust).


A huge vote of thanks to Matt for taking on the race and raising such a fantastic amount of money! Well Done from us all!!  
Home > Fundraising > Supporters in Action > Matt takes on the Nike 10k run.