After an exchange of tweets with Sky Sports News presenter Charlie Webster about why I was running the London Marathon for my sister despite my dodgy knees, I received a phone call from Sky Sports asking if they could feature my story on the Special Report!

Not one comfortable at the thought of being followed around by a TV crew, I nervously said yes knowing this was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of lupus around the world!

On the 22nd January the Sky Sports News film crews arrived in Hednesford to film the 1st of my sessions. With several cameras and lighting equipment, my lounge was quickly transformed into an interview studio. Once we had completed the interview, it was time to capture my training so, moving first into the street, which brought great interest from my neighbours, we moved on to Pye Green Valley to film my 4 mile training run.

The Sky cameras will be back in Hednesford along with Charlie over the coming weeks to capture my progress.

I will be keeping a video log and posting a blog on the Sky Sports website with the Special Report going out on Sky Sports News on Monday 16th April.

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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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Every 6 months I attend Cannock Hospital to have a Synvisc One Injection. The Rehumatolgy team at Cannock are fantastic. I cannot thank them enough for all they do. With their support and with this one injection, I have gone from a life where I couldn’t perform any exercise to where I am now, a marathon runner!

Back in 2007, I was in a bad way and spent 2 weeks in Cannock Hospital to have further surgery on my knee. I was taking lots of medication that just wasn’t working including Methotrexate . After leaving hospital, I was taken off all my medication which allowed my body to settle down. My knee continued to be very uncomfortable and swollen. It was at this time the Synvisc injection was suggested, and well, I haven’t looked back!

Synvisc-One is a single injection. It’s a simple procedure that only takes a few minutes. After the injection, you can resume normal day-to-day activities but you should avoid any strenuous activities for about 48 hours. It is a way to treat your osteoarthritis knee pain right at the source. Made from a natural substance that lubricates and cushions your joint, it can provide up to six months of knee pain relief with just one injection.

I no longer take any other medication and only minor swelling occurs after my long runs. I know I’ll never be able to return to football, but being able to run has given me the opportunity to support my sister and regain that sporting buzz!

Please see www.synviscone.com for detailed information on this treatment.

Happy running!

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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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After completing our 2nd London Marathon both Kate and I have decided to attempt a hat-trick of London Marathons and have signed up to run the 2012 Marathon!

We will again be running for the West Midlands Lupus Group as we continue our support and work for the 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.

If you are interested in running the London Marathon 2012 West Midlands Lupus Group has a number of Golden Bond places available. Full details on the their website.

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The public ballot entry system for next year’s Virgin London Marathon will open to all applicants on Tuesday 26th April 2011.

The ballot entry system will close when a total of 125,000 applications have been received. Last year the ballot reached this maximum within 24 hours, so get your application in fast.

The London Marathon is the largest annual fundraising event on the planet – runners have raised over £500 million for good causes since the race began in 1981.

Good luck. And, if you are successful you could always run for the West Midlands Lupus Group!

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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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