After completing my 2nd London Marathon in 2011, I decided to attempt a hat-trick of London Marathons and signed up to run again in 2012!

I will again be running for the West Midlands Lupus Group!

The West Midlands Lupus Group is part of LUPUS UK which is the only nationally registered charity supporting people with systemic lupus and assisting those approaching diagnosis.

My top training tips:

• Start slowly! In the early days of my training I was running less than a mile.
• Don’t increase the miles quickly, this is likely to cause injury!
• Listen to your body, don’t be afraid to change the schedule.  If you need an extra rest day, take it!
• Rest days are just as important as running days.
• Record your runs. I use a Garmin 310XT GPS watch to record all my stats. It helps me monitor my fitness and keeps me motivated. It is always a topic of conversation with people to see how many miles I’ve done and it often leads to a sponsor!
• Picture the race during your training runs. Many times I’ve been in tears on the treadmill at the gym as I pictured myself crossing the finish line and seeing my sister!

My top fundraising tips:

• Start fundraising as soon as you can! JustGiving is an integral part of my fundraising and is so easy! I’m addicted to the coin jingle on my JG iPhone app!
• Clearly detail how you are raising money and how the money you raise will be spent. A big seller in my fundraising is that money goes directly to funding a specialist Lupus nurse!
• Use social media sites such as Facebook & Twitter. They are all great ways to reach people. I have a great following of people on Facebook & Twitter who are always sharing my links with their friends, which has resulted in sponsors from as far away as Canada! JustGiving’s Facebook app is great for doing this.
• Create a Blog! People really enjoy following my story to see how I’m getting on. It creates a connection between them and the charity.
• Publicise through your work’s intranet/newsletter.  They may also offer to match your funds!
• Take pictures of your events and send press releases to your local papers.  They are always keen for local stories with a good picture!
• Get out and meet your local community! I hold curry nights, raffles, tombolas and car boot sales and so many people come and offer their support!

Fundraising isn’t hard, it just takes some energy, a little time and a big smile on your face!

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We started fundraising back in late 2009 and have enjoyed many fantastic events raising funds and awareness.

I am overwhelmed at the support we have received since we started fundraising and extremely grateful for every single donation. I know that every single penny will make a difference to lupus patients!

Our new fundraising total is £15,065.69

Thank you for your support!

Team Hibbsy

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Here is a taste of what I had to say….

Sporting background… When I left school, I gained a placement on a youth training scheme with Crewe Alexandra Football Club. A keen sportsman, I had played cricket at county level and travelled around the UK playing football at with Crewe Alexandra reserves.

At 18, I was diagnosed with arthritis and as a result I had to stop playing the game I loved. A few years ago I began scouting for a number of teams including Blackburn and Liverpool football club. Last year I decided that I needed to channel my energies into my fund raising and stopped scouting.

Time in running… I began running in the summer of 2009 after a gaining a place to run the 2010 London Marathon.

Reason you started… In 2008, my sister was diagnosed with the incurable disease lupus after a nasty few months of illness. I watched as her physical health deteriorated and I decided that I should do something to show my support of her and the charity that has since helped us discover more about lupus. I set about running small distances in the light of my own health limitations but soon set myself the challenge of running the London marathon 2010.

You can read my full interview and also many other great articles here – www.ryding2health.co.uk

Thank you to Melanie at R2H for helping me raise awareness of lupus!


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On Saturday 16th June 2012 I will be cycling 200 miles

from Lupus Way, Ellesmere Port to Lupus Street, London.

View Route

I am looking for more companies to get involved with my cycle challenge. If you would like to offer your support please get in touch.

Thank you to the above companies who are supporting me on this challenge.

Please visit their websites to find out more about their products and services.

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Monday 17th October 2011 – Bloxwich Golf Club

Organised by the Great Western Golf Society

Only £30 per player to play one of the region’s most prestigious golf courses!

22 Teams of 4 – shotgun start 11am

£16.50 per person will go towards Bloxwich for the hire of the course and a post round buffet. The remaining £13.50 per person will go to the West Midlands Lupus Group.

There will be an auction and raffle with prizes awarded throughout the day; all of the monies raised from these will go to the West Midlands Lupus Group.

To register simply complete this Registration Form

If you can provide items for the raffle or auction, please contact me.

Bloxwich Golf Club where you can enjoy a club with the best of both worlds – the peace and tranquillity of a rural club yet with an easily accessible location.

Leave our first tee and you will be transported into the heart of arable Staffordshire countryside on our undulating semi-parkland course. You will find it hard to believe you are but a few miles from the M6 and adjacent to the A34 when the only noises you hear are songbirds in summer and the occasional tractor.

Situated on the northern edge of the Black Country, Bloxwich Golf Club is a well-established members’ club founded in 1923. Offering excellent facilities and traditions you would expect from one of the premier clubs in the area.

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Sponsor me for my London Marathon 2012 challenge by simply sending a txt message - Text “HIBS78 £2″ to 70070. Want to sponsor more? Just change the value to £3, £4, £5 or £10.

All text messages are free on all networks & the West Midlands Lupus Group will receive 100% of you donation plus 25% Gift Aid!

“JustTextGiving, the UK’s first completely free text donation service is now available to JustGiving fundraisers. Create your unique six-digit code, share it and receive donations to your JustGiving page via text message.”

How it works:

Create your own JustGiving fundraising page now!

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In the days before we had carb loaded to the point of nausea and captured enough sleep to keep our energy levels high.  Neither of us thought that we wanted to see another scotch pancake or tub of cous cous again but the fuelling was worth it as the challenge in the heat was tough.

Joined by the amazing team Hibbsy set at mile 25ish with the first official lupus cheer point, we were ready for the day ahead.

We headed to Blackheath Common with nerves building. As you’d expect there were many others joining us and, as we found last year, the sound of an eery buzz of energy was punctuated by the voice of the Geordie host who aired the stories of the charity bids.

At the entry to the red start we saw Jonathan Edwards who was interviewing various runners.  Passing him, Kate scuttled to the portaloos which were very popular.  We donned our last lashings of Vaseline and dropped our bags at the lorry.

As we entered the start point, we met fellow lupus runners and some great faces from Twitter.  The buzz of excitement was now reaching it’s peak.  Stories of why people were running plastered vests and still the Geordie encouraged.  One man, we heard, was running in memory of his daughter who had died just three weeks earlier – we knew what we had to do.

The horn sounded and a cheer rang around the common.  Twenty minutes passed; we edged toward the start and then it was our time.  Our race began.  Team Hibbsy cheered us along and we were off.

The hundreds of faces that lined the path spurred us on.  We were feeling comfortable and our pace was steady.

At each mile marker we ensured we took on plenty of fluids as by this time the temperature was rising!

It wasn’t long before I spotted the first of many JustGiving cheer stations where some special high 5s were exchanged! Seeing the JG teams around the course was a great boost, they have done so much to help me raise awareness of lupus and I can’t thank them enough!

We continued with our steady pace and at 7 miles we saw Team Hibbsy who cheered us along and again at 13 miles.

The heat was challenge and the showers along the course were a very welcome relief. Because of the amount of water that we were taking in, it wasn’t long before Kate needed a convenience stop. Fortunately she managed to wait for a station where there wasn’t too much of a queue. However, the wait seemed an age before we got going again. Then we stopped again and again!

With all of the effort that we needed to push through the heat, we hadn’t realised quite how close we were to the amazing Tower Bridge where the crowds and their cheers made us refocus on why we were there.  We powered over the bridge and I even managed a smile from Denise Lewis as I shouted her name through gasps of air.

Finally, as we neared toward the Embankment the challenge hit and the run walk strategy became more like walk run.  The London Eye teased us in the distance as we knew that was where the official lupus cheer point was manned by relatives and friends.  We ploughed on and crowds began to increase.  The beats of the music pounded us along as our now weary feet hit the tarmac.

As we emerged from the final tunnel, the buzz of the London marathon crowds and the heat of the afternoon was upon us.  Now to look cool for team Hibbsy.

At 25 miles we saw the sail banners and our spirits were high.  Screams from Mom, Nan, Bill, Viki, Becky, Aunty Pauline & Uncle Paul assured us we were nearly ‘home’ and the last 5 hours 35 minutes had all been worth it.  We were on the home leg.  At the turn of ‘Big Ben’, Kate grabbed my hand more for reassurance of being able to get to the end without falling as she tried to catch her breath through tears of joy.  Photographers snapped, crowds shouted our names and then we were at 385 yards.

Elated and with pride written all over our faces we paced to the finish line.  We were double marathon runners!

Thank you to everyone who continues to support us. Every message, every tweet, every facebook post, every sponsor makes it all worth while.

Cheers!

John & Kate x x

See all our London Marathon 2011 photos.

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In the build up to the London Marathon I received an email from JustGiving saying they wanted to feature me on their London Marathon information cards that would be distributed around the course to spectators.  10 thousand cards were distributed featuring 5 London Marathon runners; I was one of them!

#ThanksJustGiving!

Check out the JustGiving iPhone app & JustGiving’s Facebook app to help your fundraising!

Feeling inspired? Get involved & create your own JustGiving page here.

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It is a great feeling when someone comes up to you and says “how do I sponsor you?”.

Well it’s really simple thanks to JustGiving. There are many ‘Sponsor me’ links on this site which will take you to our secure sponsor page. LUPUS UK gets your money straight away and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, JustGiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

It doesn’t matter how much you give, every single penny will help make a difference. All the money we raise will be used to help continue funding the LUPUS UK specialist nurse and the Lupus UK research co-ordinator, both based at Queen Elizabeth/City Hospitals, Birmingham – the first fully patient-funded posts of their kind in the UK.

Thank you for your support!

John & Kate

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The London Marathon is one of the biggest running & fundraising events in the world and takes place on Sunday 17th April 2011.

West Midlands Lupus Group has 12 runners in this year’s event and along with a further 20 runners for LUPUS UK we want to ensure all of our runners get an extra special cheer!

The cheering point will be located at 24.5 miles along the embankment opposite the London Eye.  Just look out for the big LUPUS UK sail banners!

We hope you can come along and enjoy a magical day supporting our Lupus Runners as they take on the challenge of a lifetime!

Join the LUPUS UK/WMLG London Marathon facebook event.

If you require any further information please contact John via email john@lupusrunner.co.uk.

Official Virgin London Marathon website.

Google Map of the cheering point.

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