He's running and he's running and he's running away

If you've been hanging round these here parts for some time, you'll probably already know that my partner is a running nut.


This year he's taking part in the London marathon (again) and raising funds for a charity that is very close to our hearts - ALD Life. And this is where YOU come in. Please read on ...

ALD Life was set up by a friend of ours, Sara Hunt, to raise funds for research into adrenoleukodystrophy and to support children and their families who are affected by this terminal brain disorder.

Both of Sara’s sons have ALD. Alex was diagnosed at the age of 7, back in January 2001. Within months he was blind and paralysed. Sara’s younger son, Ayden, showed signs of the disease developing last year - the same age his brother was when his symptoms first appeared. Ayden has undergone chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. Although theoretically this should be an eventual cure, the path has been far from easy and there have been complications.

I'VE JUST HEARD THAT AYDEN WAS BACK AT SCHOOL PART TIME TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HIS OPERATION!

Please help us to raise funds to help fight this cruel disease. You can read Alex and Ayden’s full story here.

You can sponsor G online, which is quick, easy and secure. Please go here

Thank you so much for your support.

Spend your money wisely ...

A friend of mine runs a charity called ALD Life.
Both her sons have Adrenoleukodystrophy, which if you've ever seen the film, Lorenzo's Oil, will be familiar to you.

You can read their story here - I challenge you not to:
1) cry
2) be amazed at her single minded determination to do the very best for her children.

Anyway, I just received an email from her.

She's always coming up with new and imaginative ways to fundraise and with the splurging season coming up, this is timely.

We have just joined a service called Simple Fundraising. This is a fundraising website that earns commission from retail outlets and utility services for ALD Life or your chosen charity every time you shop online from the site. The link for our fundraising page is here. Simply register and then start shopping – you can even do online grocery shopping at Tescos or ASDAs and earn money for us! This really is a fantastically easy way to help us raise money so please pass this on to all your friends and encourage them to do their Xmas etc. shopping online through the link above.

Thank you all for your support and happy retail therapying!!

So, if you're planning on spending some of your hard-earned, here's a way to do so and help others at the same time.

Happy Chanukah - or Eid, Divali, Yule, Xmas - or whichever festival of light you celebrate.

Cor luv-a-duck

I've just adopted a duck!
I know, I know - you'd think I have enough bills to deal with. (Groan.)

Anyway, this is the very best of causes.
I've mentioned before that I have a friend who runs a charity called ALD Life.
Her younger son has recently had a bone marrow transplant to prevent the progression of the disease.
(You can read about his older brother here.)

Yet she still finds time and energy to fundraise for the charity.
Her latest initiative has been to join in the Great British Duck Race.
On 31st August, up to 250,000 rubber ducks will float down the Thames to set a new world record and raise £££ for charities.

If you'd like to adopt a duck and help raise money for ALD Life, you can do so here.

Succumbing to the G-force

Maniacmum is hosting an online marathon party here.

As you all know, running is not my thing but I do love a good online party ...

And it will be interesting to attend an official one, as opposed to a squatted rave in an abandoned comments box ...

Since all life is now geared to G's run on Sunday, I thought I'd post here the interview G did for the author of this book, so you can see what he (and yours truly) are contending with.

Greg Kat – marathon story

My running career started strong, petered out in my teens and then took off again when I was in my forties.

When I was 14, I was the Junior All-London 1500m champion, but gave up running soon after due to teenage angst and a lack of confidence.

Over 3 decades later, I started running again to keep fit and decided to enter the London marathon in 2000. I chose the marathon as it’s the ultimate challenge. I work in the leisure industry (at that time as a lifeguard and now as a swimming teacher) so managed to get a place through work.

I ran for Diabetes UK. When I was 21, I was diagnosed with insulin-dependant diabetes and inject 4 times a day. A marathon is high endurance, when the body is constantly taxed over a long period of time. I knew that even if I got my sugar levels spot on at the beginning, they would be bound to fluctuate during the run. It was impossible to predict how my body would react, so I decided I was in it for the experience, not to achieve a particular time. If my sugar went low, I risked collapsing. If it went high, there was a risk of ketoacidosis – a potentially life-threatening condition.

I started at the back of the field, where it takes ages just to reach the start line, and refuelled during the run constantly with Lucozade and jelly beans. I completed the course comfortably in 4hrs 33mins 28secs and was happy with that. I saw it as the first part of a steep learning curve.

In 2001 I ran again – this time for a small charity called Equal Weight – and knocked over an hour off my previous time, finishing in 3hrs 27mins 52secs.

The following year, when I ran for the Child Poverty Action Group , I improved my time again – this time to 3hrs 11mins 25secs, qualifying me for an automatic place the next year in the ‘Good for your Age’ category. Suddenly everything seemed possible. I set myself a target. I wanted to complete a marathon in under 3hrs. But then in 2003, when I ran for a small school in north London, I had a disaster. On the 10^th mile my sugar plummeted to a dangerously low level. I ended up in an ambulance and the woman wouldn’t allow me to continue until she was confident I was stable. She eventually let me go (reluctantly) but radioed ahead to the first aid station on the 16^th mile and told me to stop there and have my blood sugar checked again.

When I got to the 16^th mile I felt fine and would have run past. But the wonderful marathon team were having none of it! The guy ran out into the road holding my number aloft and demanded I stop. When I said I didn’t want to, he ran alongside me and tested my blood!

I met my family and friends on the 25^th mile and stopped to tell them what had happened. I completed the course in 3hrs 33mins 51secs. People told me that in many ways this was my greatest achievement yet, considering the circumstances, but I was really disappointed. I was desperate to crack that 3hr mark and had failed in my own eyes.

In 2004 the experience was better. I ran for Kids Out and was back to my previous time – 3hrs 11mins 14secs.

I decided to take a break and didn’t take part in 2005, though I continued to train as well as running half marathons and in other events. I was averaging 60-70 miles per week. Every week. Come rain, snow or sunshine …

Last year I was tantalisingly close to my target. I ran for ALD Life and finished in 3hrs 1min 47secs.

This year I’m running for Refuge , the domestic violence charity. You can sponsor me here.

Will 2007 be the year I break that magical 3hr mark?

It will be my last opportunity to do it before I turn 50 …

Cool runnings!

Well, he did it. Of course he did it.

On Sunday, G successfully completed his 8th London marathon and we can all sit back and feel proud (and relieved) once again.

Many, many thanks to those people who sponsored him to raise funds for ALD Life. Thanks to y'all, we've raised more from one single event than we ever have before.

Needless to say, we'd be more than happy if people carry on donating. The site stays open for several weeks and you can donate safely and securely here.

Just popping in (or is it out?)

Another brief break to catch up on other news.

It's less than a week to go to G running in the marathon and we're deep in the grip of the annual countdown mania. Donations to ALD Life are still coming in and so far we've raised more than we ever have before in a single event. Many many thanks to those of you who have donated. Needless to say, further donations will be more than welcome. You can do so online here.

I'm delighted to announce I will be hosting John Baker on the next stop of his virtual tour to promote his latest book, Winged With Death next Monday. I'll be posting a review, but I'm telling you now, it's a mighty fine book ...

I've started co-leading one day workshops for The Writers' Workshop with Emma Darwin. The next one is on Saturday at Waterstone's in Piccadilly. Apparently there are still a few places available, so if you fancy spending a day focusing on self-editing your novel, you can see more info here.

Meanwhile, if you're missing more news and views on the literary front that I would normally be posting here, do pop into Bookarazzi's jazzy new site.

Running? Wossat???

I really should have blogged this sooner but better late than ...
Greg ran the marathon this year in 3hrs 1min 47secs - 10 mins faster than his previous best. Pretty bloody good for a 48 year old insulin dependant diabetic and tantalisingly close to his target of cracking 3hrs. No sooner had he crossed the line than he was planning his strategy for next year. Sigh. I sometimes wonder how I ended up in this family ...
Anyway he ran this year for an amazing charity run by a friend of ours and called ALD Life. Check them out. It's not too late to sponsor him.