Here’s a little write-up detailing my experience running the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon. During the run-up to the event I managed to raise over £200 (including GiftAid) for an extremely deserving charity. Read on to find out more and witness some incredibly embarrassing pics – receding hairline be damned!

Embarrassing pic no.1 with about 10 of the 13 miles completed.

This piece ran in was actually really scared about competing in the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon – I’m not supposed to say that really, but I was. Having previously only completed a few 8 mile runs, the distance of 13.1094 miles seemed frankly insurmountable. That’s where support from sponsors and a worthy cause like Chichester’s beloved Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre came in. I remembered reading about the centre looking for volunteers and donations in the Portsmouth News to help with a population boom of new cats in the area. Having just lost my own cat ‘Nouey’ before Christmas and having girlfriend who is absolutely besotted with her two furballs ‘Sam’ and ‘Smudge’, running for C&RRC was frankly a no-brainer and I was immensely honored to help such a worthy cause.

It’s impossible to overestimate the impact of having sponsors behind you when carrying out something that you genuinely don’t know whether you can complete or not, as the thought of not letting anybody down is a fantastic motivator. Thanks to donations from friends, family, relatives, and supporters of the Rescue Centre I blazed through the usual £150 funding target to raise £218.75 (including GiftAid contributions) which frankly blew me away. I was overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of those people donators who hadn’t even met me before, but it goes to show just how valued the Cat & Rabbit (and gerbils) Centre is in the local community.

I actually overtook a granny on a bike on the way to the finish line, I was quite proud of that.

Despite having some feelings of trepidation on the start line – beginning with collecting your number, lining the timing chip into laces and ambling around the Pyramids centre with hundreds of other joggers as the 10:30 start timer ticked down – the race itself was actually an  enjoyably challenging experience. The Portsmouth weather treated everyone to blazing sunshine and an occasional blast of wind to cool competitors and spectators down, and  the route hugged the coastline along Clarence Pier, Eastern Parade and all the way up to Eastern Road and back, everyone was treated to some spectacular views.

Aside from occasional detours around some incredibly wet marshlands and some deceptively deep puddles and quicksand-like Clay – the run was really straightforward and it wasn’t until around the ten mile mark where I began to struggle. Three miles to go and my thighs were chaffing, my legs were aching and my calves were cramping up, but thanks to the support from friends, family and those who read this newsletter I was able to carry on and complete the event in 2 hours 8 minutes or 684th of the 980+ competitors.

Finishing any kind of endurance event is usually a bit of an anti-climax, as the activity is so long that it’s easy to think, ‘I could’ve done better than that’ or ‘I still have some energy left in me I could have gone a bit quicker’, but running for the Cat & Rabbit Rescue Centre completely nullified that feeling for me as I was proud that my small part in the event had prompted people to dig into their pockets and donate some of their hard-earned cash to an immensely worthy cause. A big thanks to all those who supported me for this event and I’ll be looking to raise more money for  the centre in this year’s Great South Run in October. I’m already training for that particular challenge, so if you see a tired looking runner pounding pavement around Portchester on the weekend be sure to say hi!