And why for Kernos?
When the phone rings unexpectedly at home before 6.00 in the morning it is unlikely to be good news. 5 June 2008 was when I heard my brother had just died after a short battle with cancer. That was a wake up call in more ways than one. I’ve always managed to get the important things in life done, it’s the “optional” that I’m tardy with. “There’s always tomorrow” didn’t seem so reliable.
How do you celebrate someone you have, literally, known every single day of your life? I am no sportsman, but I had nurtured a vague idea for several years that I’d like to do a Marathon but had never shown any commitment to getting a place. And then I saw a notice that my Company, Baxters Food Group, were sponsoring the Loch Ness Marathon.
With 13 weeks to go, and with no experience of running, time was against me. I knew I would struggle on my own so joined a local running club, Halstead Road Runners. Their gentle help undoubtedly got me in the right frame of mind and helped me get a fair few miles under my legs.
The first 10 miles were positively enjoyable, the second 10 were bearable. And the last 6 were sheer torture. There were times when there were people walking as fast as I was running. It’s difficult to describe how tired the legs get and I don’t know if more training would have helped, but I crossed the finishing line having achieved both my objectives.
And then it was all over.
As often happens when you set yourself a challenging target, I hadn’t given much thought as to what would happen next. Once I had reached a level of fitness that enabled me to do this crazy feat it was difficult to stop. And I even did another marathon, the same one in fact, a year later. More money raised, this time for Cancer Research. That second one was to be my last “big one”, except on the day of the race the postman brought me an unexpected letter, notification of a place in the 2010 London Marathon on 25 April.
So this time I’m fairly certain it IS going to be my final marathon and I want to be able to use it to raise money for one of the most deserving local charities that I know of. I have reason to be personally grateful for the quiet work that the Kernos Centre do, especially in the help that they provide young people.
To that end I would be delighted for any sponsorship that you feel able to provide. The easiest method will be to follow the link on this website, or you could contact the centre direct.
Anyone who has had any dealings at all with the Kernos Centre, or know of others who have benefitted directly, will understand why I passionately believe that this is an organisation that deserves all the support that we can give it.
Neil Murfitt
You can make a Donation to Kernos and support Neil's run, through his 'Just Giving' page at: