My friend Dave Johnson aka Alf Tupper is running in the London marathon this year, despite problems he has had with his knee, and despite anxieties following the dreadful and horrific events in Boston. He is doing it to raise money for two very deserving charities, MIND and Weston Hospicecare. He has been training for months, working really hard to try and collect as much sponsorship money as he can. here is his latest progress report, prior to setting off to London today with his family, and running on Sunday 21st April:
HiTupper here! Well, barring any unforeseen disasters, it looks like the wonders of modern medicine will after all allow the Tough of the Track to actually arrive at the start line in London on Sunday. Whether he makes it to the finish line in one piece is another matter but I’ll worry about that once I’ve started. Following a consultant giving me the all clear to at least give it a go and a couple of intense massages from a sports injury specialist (the most macho, manly, painful but ultimately beneficial massage a tough guy like the Tough of the Track could wish for!), the injured knee feels as good as it’s likely to be until it gets properly addressed with physiotherapy and has a good rest from pounding the streets.It’s been a long old haul since I started training way back on 22nd October 2012 with a few ups and downs along the way. Frozen conditions requiring ice grippers on my running shoes, various minor injury scares, a corker of a cold and, of course, the more serious knee injury that I am still carrying. There have also been good performances in Weston’s Tough Ten Challenge and the Bath Half Marathon as part of the 82 training sessions I will have completed when I finish my final one tomorrow morning before heading off to London. Perhaps the biggest challenge of all, however, has been giving up alcohol completely in the four weeks leading up to the race, the longest period of consecutive days that I have been completely alcohol free since I was 16! Surely such dedication deserves at least being able to complete the 26.2 miles!As always, I have been helped along the way by your fantastic support for my chosen charities, Mind and Weston Hospicecare. As things currently stand, I am homing in on totals of £600 for each charity which says a great deal about the generosity you have shown up to now. A huge thank you, therefore, to those of you who have donated or pledged so far. For those of you who have not yet donated, there is still plenty of time to do so. As always, you can donate securely online by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Dave-Johnson5 and http://www.justgiving.com/Dave-Johnson .Keep an eye out for Alf on Sunday (sounds like a boring TV programme doesn’t it?). His running number is 8319 and he may well have his legendary name emblazoned across his running top. You can even track the Tough of the Track’s progress online if you want to. This could be Alf’s last ever marathon as age begins to take it’s toll so thank you to all of you for your generosity, support and words of encouragement during the last 6 months.All the best,Alf
Lois Elsden 