In the footsteps of legends...?

[If you want recent posts: pls scroll down: this post is always on top]

Rowena ran the original Marathon to Athens route for the 2500th anniversary of the marathon event. The 26.2 mile route is a gruelling and lonely course through desolate stretches between the towns, along a highway, including a 13 mile relentless climb and steep descent to the finish at the Olympic stadium. And you can be a part of it without having to work up a sweat.

Over the years I have had a lot of generous support for big charities for big causes. This year I wanted to feel closer to the causes I am running for and for you as supporters to be closer to the causes you donate to. Living in London I see firsthand, work alongside and volunteer on a wide range of local issues. I see that there is so much that can be done on a small scale at local level that will have a knock on effect and long term impact that far outweighs the size of the donation.

East London Community Foundation (ELCF) is a grant-giving organisation that works to provide small amounts of money to grassroots organisations. For every pound donated, ELCF will obtain at least another pound in match funding from the government, increasing the value of your donation, without any cost to you. If you gift aid your donation, it will be worth £2.56 for every pound donated.

Your donation will be used to support many different small community-based charitable projects in East and North East London. You can have a say: use the comments section of the website or email me to tell me what causes you’d like to see the donations go towards. It could be working on domestic violence, a self-help group for people with disabilities and their carers, a sustainability project, social activities to bring older people out of isolation, or an activity to engage with anti-social children, to name but a few examples. Whatever it is used for, it will put local people at the heart of making a difference in their own local areas. And as the beneficiaries of that funding go on to achieve more, thanks to our support of their projects, so your donation continues to give.

I know times are tight, so I am not asking for big contributions, even the cost of a congratulation pint after a marathon will go a really long way. If I could get every facebook friend to buy me a pint then we’d have more than £1200 to spread across the community from those donations alone – not to mention giftaid and match funding. If you’re not able to donate, why not send this link to a mutual friend.

Thank you.

Donate here.

PS I did it! New posts will always be below this one so please scroll down to read on. Or back.

A piece of history

"If you want to be a part of history, please drop off your bags to the bag check in now!" pleaded the MC at the start line of the marathon in Marathonas - and he wasn't joking. Not that the trucks were really going to whisk away our bags for the 26.2 mile (1 hour winding road trip) back to Athens, but that we were really going to be a part of history.

Alongside the flame of Marathon, the awesome Joan Benoit Samuelson led us through the athlete's oath, and with right arm raised, and under a burning morning sun, we toed the start line with Samuelson, Raymond Bett and a number of stocky Greek men dressed as historic soldiers.

This was an marathon with hardly any flat surface, along motorways and highways and the only shade from a motorway underpass (that you then had to climb). But it was also an event passing ancient Greek statues, where old ladies passed you sprigs of olive leaves and robust men clapped and called out bravo. Where finally, as you entered the city of Athens, guards with pompom slippers supressed a smile and the crowds egged you into the wonder of an ancient stadium lined with flags and cheering masses and you really felt you were a part of something very special. So special, I didn't stop my watch, didn't care about time, just cared that I ran with a smile for nearly every step, that I sang Belinda Carlisle on a Greek mountain, that I returned to the finish with a sprig of olive branch in my cap, no injuries and a fast second half. And as I shouted "victory" on the finish line, I was very pleased I didn't follow history and then die!

See some pics.

The final pack list

Running stuff

Spare top, legs, socks, undies, run bra, 2 caps, 2 hair band things, 4 socks, 6 hand made limb warmers, disposable poncho, disposable silver foil warmer, Camelbak, bum bag, arm holder thing

Still to pack: running top, little back pack for holding in luggage

Misc and logs

8 safety pins, plastic bag for shoes, small tape for labelling bags, cable ties, lacky bands, adhesive labels, 2 marker pens, 2 books, Athens guide, maps, greek phrase book, 2(??) mindless books to read when stressed, torch for reading when insomnia hits, spork x2, swiss army knife, aussie tattoos, stickers, clip on koalas, euros, spare wallet, lots of credit cards

Medical

Massage gels, Rescue cream, Rescue remedy, 1 compeed blister plaster, 2 blister packs, toothbrush, tooth pasge, 19 ibruprofen, nail file, moisturiser, relaxing bath gel, amoxicillian x 4, razor, sachets of shower gel, hair brush, shampoo, lacky bands, hair clips, plastic airport bags, sachet of sunscreen (2), Vaseline (2), anti chaffing gel (sachet), wet wipes, glide, vitamins (multi, fish oil, bone bilding stuff), nuun hydration tablets, sports beans x 2, gels x 8, arnica spray, tea tree oil, rescue remedy balm, arnica cream

Still to pack: plasters? Deodorant, ventolin and becotide, nail clippers, massage stick?? Yellow ball?? Chia seeds, limes, stretch cord

Electrical

Samsung charger Europe, nokia charger, 2 euro adaptors

Still to pack: camera, batteries, mobile phone, ipod shuffle, nike sport band

Undecided: ipod nano, heart rate monitor

Other clothes

Trackie pants, sunnies, jeans, denim skirt, one nice top, black long sleeved top, 4 gaudy tshirts themed on running or Australia, bathers, Aussie scarf, spare Saucony,

Still to pack: vibram 5 fingers

A walk in the park

No I haven't got to that stage where I think any run is a walk in the park, that's just what I did after my 10km run. A walk in some woods anyway.

That said I guess running 10km shouldn't be a massive deal after running 20 mile but I did whimper a bit in the first 5km and I did actually get so hungry that I willingly consumed one of the eight gels I was carrying for practice in a bumbag.

The shiny new Nike sportsband tells me I ran 10km in one hour. It's a goal to run in 59 minutes. I regret deeply not turning the timer off at the long traffic lights...

This will be my only boast

In the marathon, anything does and will happen. If it’s not nerves, it’s the sheer volume of running with thousands of people, in a different country, in a different place. Lots of things you can’t control. So yesterday, I ran my only little event: the Rowena Harding 20 miler. Last year this was a really important distance. I ran with a cycling support crew and I ran and I ran. We expected me to fall over – after all, that time last year, I was registered in a marathon as a walker. But I kept running and we both looked very surprised when I got back home in one piece.

So this year, I decided to celebrate the 20. It was something I could control, on a route I knew, just me and African running dogs at the canal. Of course, what I didn’t bank on was food poisoning the day before, and spending much of the preceding morning with my head in a bucket. Oh well, the show had to go on and I went for the 20.

I whinged at 3km, I cried at 3 miles. I had a right paddy under the West London fly over. And there was a shouting and screaming fit at Little Venice. I figured as long as I kept my legs turning over it would be ok. And soon 7 miles came round and I felt a little better, got into a rhythm, got lost in Islington, kept the legs turning over and found myself in Hackney. Hackney! Hackney is a destination – not somewhere you stumble into from Willesden Green. Once I had passed my third uber trendy grungy canalside cafe I knew I had to go back west. And with a little whimper of joy at the 11 mile mark, I did just that, turned around and did it all again.

I finished in 3hrs 46. I was pleased just to finish. The next day, I realised that I had completed the last long run, and that nothing but my own mental demons and an unfortunate but unlikely accident with someone dropping a suitcase on me, was going to stop me from taking the start line in Athens. I sent text messages to my physio, osteo, pilates guru to say thank you for all her help and choked back a little emotion and whispered myself a little “bravo.”

On your marks...