Tag: Charity runner

Posted on

One week to go… London Marathon 2015

Things&Ink editor Alice Snape is currently in training for the London Marathon 2015, she’s running for Sarcoma UK. Read more in her first Marathon diary entry. Here’s part six of her marathon diary…

  

  

ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO! Only one week to go until I run the London Marathon. And if I could imagine doing anything on the weekend before this momentous occasion, it was definitely not being bridesmaid at one of my best friend’s weddings. Going to one of your friends’ wedding means drunkenness, right? And if I have to run a marathon in exactly one week’s time that means I can’t get drunk! How can a wedding be fun if it does not involve champers, and lots of it?

Well actually, I realised you can have lots of fun… having a good time and dancing all evening does not have to be fuelled by alcohol. And if there is enough tipsy people around, you kinda feel a little drunk too. Even if you’re only sipping on a sparkling water and elderflower cordial (it’s a delish alternative to a cocktail). Plus I feel fresh as a daisy (or a runner) today…

 

You will know from previous diary entries, and updates on my personal Instagram account @morewhitequeen, that I have been building up mileage and have done one long run every week since December last year. This long run has gradually increased over my training plan from one hour to just over 21 miles! The first milestone in the plan was 8 miles, and I remember finding this distance particularly difficult in December last year. Running for over an hour was really daunting at that time. It’s weird to me that this distance now feels fairly short, as I managed to run 21.09 miles is 3 hours 40 minutes just over two weeks ago.

It has taken a lot of dedication, sacrifice (I mean I haven’t even been able to get tattooed!) and determination to get to this point and now I am feeling extremely proud of what I have already achieved. Especially as I did my last “long run” on Friday, before wedding madness kicked off, and really loved it…I ran 9 miles in the beautiful countryside and enjoyed every mile of it, I felt fit and healthy and I felt like I could run all day – a feeling I have never really had before. Normally I am counting the seconds until I can stop.

So let’s hope this commitment and all the non-drinking will be worth it! Bring on the London Marathon next week… and let’s hope the last week of tapering means my legs will feel strong for my longest run ever next Sunday. Now someone pass me a massive plate of carbs!

 

Race ready, here’s me in my race vest with my name on it… all ready for next week. I am running the marathon for Sarcoma UK, you can read more and donate on my justgiving justgiving.com/AliceSnapeMarathon

Posted on

Part four in My Marathon Diary – runner video inspiration

Things&Ink editor Alice Snape is currently in training for the London Marathon 2015, she’s running for Sarcoma UK. Read more in her first Marathon diary entry. Here’s part four of her marathon diary – some video inspiration.  

This video went viral last year, but I still love it… I find watching it comforting and it just makes me want to get out there and go for a run – providing me with much-needed motivation during my marathon training.

Directors Matan Rochlitz and Ivo Gormley released the short film – ‘The Runners’ – on 15 November last year. Using a bike with a cart attached for the cameraman, the duo interviewed runners through the seasons, which you can see change beautifully throughout the short film. The runners keep on running through rain and shine. In a piece published in The Guardian, Ivo Gormley wrote that one interviewee had been “humbling” in his honesty about his determination to run a marathon for his father, who suffers from dementia.

Runners are united in this film by one thing – running – and they run for all sorts of different reasons.

 

 

Published on Nov 15, 2013 – A short film by Matan Rochlitz & Ivo Gormley

“Pounding the tarmac through the seasons, a band of runners are brazenly challenged with intimate questions as they pace their routes. Liberated from responsibilities, their guards drop dramatically, releasing funny and brutally frank confessions, and weaving a powerful narrative behind the anonymous masses.”

Twitter: #therunners
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therunnersfilm

I am running the marathon for cancer charity Sarcoma UK, as my boyfriend’s sister Katherine died from Sarcoma over three years ago, just a few short months before James and I met. I am running the marathon for Katherine, who I never met, but so wish I could have. I want to do this for James and his family. If you could donate as little or as much as you can afford, it will make my training seem so much more worthwhile. My JustGiving page is justgiving.com/AliceSnapeMarathon

Posted on

Running the London Marathon for Sarcoma UK

Part 1 of Things&Ink editor Alice Snape’s Marathon Diary…

Around three weeks ago, I got the news that I had been waiting for…  I had been accepted to run the London Marathon 2015 for the cancer charity Sarcoma UK …

My heart filled with a mix of excitement, fear and happiness. Excitement, as running the marathon has always been one of those things I want to achieve, and fear, as I have never run close to that distance in my life. I have slowly been building my fitness levels over the past five months, and really enjoying the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle. But a marathon is a whole new level entirely and I am ready for the challenge (I hope). It feels like the right time to do it and for a charity that is very close to my heart.

Alice Snape running for Sarcoma UK

Let me tell you a little bit about why I applied to run the London Marathon for Sarcoma UK.  My boyfriend’s sister, Katherine, died from Sarcoma over three years ago, in fact she died just a few short months before James and I met. James and his mum, Glenys, support the work of Sarcoma UK to help other families who are affected by Sarcoma. I never knew Katherine, although over the years that James and I have been together, I have slowly learnt more about her – what sort of person she was and her likes and dislikes. In some way, I guess I want to fundraise for Sarcoma to pay tribute to Katherine, who I never met,  but so wish I could have. This is also the reason, why I chose to give all the profits from ‘Miniature Ink’ (the collaborative exhibition with Atomica gallery to celebrate Things&Ink’s two year birthday) to the charity.

But on a very selfish level, I also want to run the marathon, I want to see if I can physically achieve it. To see if I can run the entire distance and do it in a time that I can feel proud of… I am currently on week 3 of the official London Marathon training plan, and I am enjoying being competitive with myself. Beating my own times, and gradually building up the time and distance I can run. (I recently downloaded the RunKeeper app and completely obsessed with miles per minute and figuring out what my “race pace” might be).

So I am running this marathon for Katherine, for James and his mum, for those who are affected by Sarcoma, to support the work of this wonderful charity and, mostly, for myself, because I want to say I have ran a marathon, and also because I want to say that I ran it for Sarcoma UK. So please give as little or as much as you can, so that I can think of all those pennies when I am doing training runs in the cold and dark over winter… Here’s a link to my justgiving page.

I will be keeping you all updated on how my training is going over the coming months in ‘My Marathon Diary’ on this blog, so please offer words of support and encouragement…

Find out more about Sarcoma UK, on their website, www.sarcoma.org.uk, and in previous blog posts.