One year on and half a marathon!

Well who would have thought it. Just 13 months after my lifesaving surgery I completed the BUPA Great North Run in a time of 3:45:36. Now to the average person that time would seem quite long, however, i'm not your average participant and I was chuffed that I managed to finish in under the 4 hour mark. It was a great day, the atmosphere was fabulous and there were lots of people doing it in fancy dress, even a guy running the whole race backwards. The red arrows that flew accross at the start were amazing and we even got to stop and chat to Denise Lewis for 10mins although unfortunatly by the time we reached the half way point they had finished the live interviews so it didnt get aired but was still nice to meet her.
My story was covered by the BBC during the coverage of the race and I hope it got the point accross about how important organ donation is and what a difference it can really make & also about how important it is to raise awarness of both Organ Donation & Cystic Fibrosis.

I thought about my Donor for the entire 13.2 miles, because of course without them & their family, this would have remained an impossible dream and non of it would have been possible. It was literally the hardest thing both physically & mentally that I've ever done. Every mile was grueling and at points I felt like just sitting down and giving up but the thought of my donor kept me going. The last 1/2 mile was the hardest I had excruciating cramp in my calfs and I don't mean pins & needles lol and I had serious D.O.M.S (delayed onset muscle soreness) for two days afterwards. But crossing the finish line and the feeling of achievment made it all worth while.

There are a few people I need to thank my boyfriend Mark Tingle for coming along and giving me your support spending his whole day trecking back from the start line to South Sheilds and not even getting chance to have a beer because the Metro line was so busy and for literally holding me up after I crossed the finish line it was great to see you as I crossed the finish line and I love you lots. Matthew McArdle for completing the race with me and getting me past each grueling mile and sacrificing a PB time lol. Everyone who's supported me and sponsored me, I'm not yet sure of my final fundraising amount but after an initial look it's looking that it may hit the £1,000 mark and most of all a huge thank you to my Donor and her family without whom, non of this would have been possible.

Its still not too late to donate at www.justgiving.com/living-the-impossible-dream.

All thats left to do now is think about what I can do next year, but for now I'm going to recover from this event!