AB2U Blog

By Dianne Beer

I think natures way of saying ‘Thank you’ to all the Tree-Athletes running on Saturday to raise money to plant more trees in our lovely cities was to blow away all those nasty rain clouds and ensure the sun shone down on us all day long. Perfect conditions to run in because most of Battersea Park pathways are lined with trees which shadow the running route and allowed shade to the 2,000 runners who took part in the Tree-athlon 5k fun run.

The 10.15am start was a treat for Kathryn and I, and allowed us a small lie in compared to many of the 10k runs which can start as early as 09:00am in the morning. With such glorious weather how could anyone want to stay indoors, it was the perfect day for running around the park, which was full of people doing all sorts of activities. A few rays of sunshine and London springs into life. Thankfully Kathryn and I were feeling full of life too, and almost felt the race was over all too soon, but if the race was over quickly the after race entertainment most certainly was not, ensuring everyone from runners to friends and family had a superb morning.

The Trees for Cities charity had created a tree-athlon village especially for the event, complete with picnic area, massage tent, stage (for comedian, warm up aerobics specialist, and after race presentations). There was a band playing after the race, a drum area for groups of people to all participate at the same time in group drumming sessions, free goodie bags, free finishing photos, free health drinks, water, fruit and of course a free sapling (either Birch or Oak) for everyone to take home, nurture and grow until big enough to plant in the ground. Kathryn and I had purchased the optional picnic which was the right decision on such a glorious day. After our massage we sat and had lunch with lots of other jubilant runners, medals around their necks and little saplings all around. After lunch we lay out on the grass for an hour and enjoyed taking in all the activity around us.

To see our pictures from Saturday, please click here.

We were down on our fund raising target on this occasion, but as I mentioned in our last blog we are very much on target for our end of year target of £1,000. Thank you as always to those who did very kindly donate to this particular charity, and if anyone would like a new oak or birch tree in their back garden then I have two little saplings being carefully looked after in a large pot on my roof terrace. They will stay here until they grow too big, when their next new home will be a very large garden square in Notting Hill. They most definitely will be Trees for Cities, what a wonderful thought, our run this weekend will mean two more trees in London for many many many years to come…

By Dianne Beer

Fund Raising Update

With just three and a half months to go until the end of 2008 (where has this year gone, it has flown by for us!) it seemed the perfect time to check we are going to achieve our target of raising £1,000 for a variety of charities through competing in Fun Runs and other Charity Events (e.g. Jeans for Genes day on Friday 3rd October 2008, for Funds for research and support services for Genetic Disorders or Birth Defects, and Wear it Pink on Friday 31st October 2008 for Breast Cancer Campaign.)

Total Raised So Far
The really great news is we have raised £751.02 for charity this year.

Charities Abenefit2u has raised funds for:

• Breast Cancer Campaign
• Cancer Research UK
• Disability Snowsport
• Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
• Help a London Child
• Jeans for Genes
• Leukaemia Research
• Marie Curie Cancer Care
• The Gorilla Organisation
• The Rainforest Foundation
• RNLI, Royal National Lifeboat Institute
• Sports Relief
• Trees for Cities
• World Wildlife Foundation

AB2U’s Runathon Schedule up until the end of 2008
Mid September through to Mid October is most definitely our busiest period of fun runs yet, with Kathryn and I competing in no less than 4 different runs.

This coming Saturday, 20th September 2008, Kathryn and I are both competing in the Tree-athon 5k, at Battersea Park. We are not doing very well with our target for this race, but I can understand this. Many of my friends have said they feel far more strongly about charities for humans than they do for wildlife, and further down their list comes the environment. I strongly believe that you should only give money to charity because you want to and to causes you care about.

Saturday 27th September 2008 is the day I compete in The Great Gorilla Run, City of London, in a Gorilla Suit and Bikini (how else will you know it is me!). This race is 7k, which originally I thought ‘No sweat’ but now I have tested wearing my gorilla suit around the house I am thinking ‘Lots of sweat’ and itching! The gorilla suit arrived with a list of safety precautions, including cutting large eye holes so you can see where you are running – hmmmmm slightly worrying. 1,000 gorillas all running around the city on a Saturday morning, it will be totally hilarious from start to finish – I cannot wait.

Sunday 5th October 2008 is THE BIG DAY for Kathryn, the climax of all her training and hard work! She will be competing in the Run to the Beat Half Marathon, commencing from the O2 stadium, for Leukaemia Research, a very good cause. I have never competed in this distance and have total admiration for her and have no doubt she will do brilliantly!

On Sunday 12th October 2008 I am heading back to my home town of Rayleigh for the weekend (yes before anyone says it, I am an Essex girl by birth, and only a Notting Hill Lass by current home residence), to compete in the Tesco Cancer Research 10k race, at Hylands Park, with the best fan club in the world, my lovely parents and baby sister.

Towards the end of the year we are competing in The Rainforest Foundation 10k, at Finsbury Park, and the Santa Run at Battersea Park. Equally as entertaining as the gorilla run, thousands of Santas’s all charging around the park. The little children’s faces are a delight to watch.

With just £248.98 to raise by the end of the year, and six Fun Runs left we are optimistic that the two AB2U running bugs, Dianne and Kathryn, will achieve their year long runathon target, but only because of all are extremely kind and generous friends and family who keep sponsoring us.

A BIG THANK YOU once again! Roll on Saturday’s run, when we will be very green AB2U Running Bugs, saving the environment!

By Dianne Beer

Before…

The Abenefit2u Running Bugs! Shane, Katie, Jess, Dianne & Kathryn.

And after…

Another race and another £100 raised for charity by Abenefit2u Running Bugs, Dianne and Kathryn, for the World Wildlife Fund, with as always a lot of help from our friends…

…A GIANT SIZE THANK YOU to those of you who were kind enough to sponsor us for this event. We really do appreciate all your donations no matter how much. Every donation puts us one step closer to our target for each race of £100 and our final end of year target of £1,000 for charity.

As you can see from the photos above we were joined by some of our running friends on the night. It was lovely to have a group of us all watching the concert together and getting more and more excited as the time for Wave 2 runners to assemble grew nearer, as we watched Wave 1 tear out of the stadium, a mass of red…

“Yes, that’s us in the middle of the second crowd just tucked in the middle, how you cannot spot us I do not know!”

Before I tell you more about this amazing run, one of the most fun so far and definitely the largest I have attended, I must say a further BIG THANK YOU to the two Abenefit2u photographers, Fi and Tash, for all the fabulous shots of the team and Wembley stadium. You might notice later there are no photos of us finishing! Some excuse about being “trapped at the bar”!

Fi and Tash were amongst 10,000 supporters who turned up to watch the live concert and cheer on 20,000 runners.

Moby, during their live set.

You can always rely on the British weather to do just what you have been hoping it won’t all day. So true to form as Wave 2 gathered at the starting line, so the heavens started to open and I don’t think they stopped for the entire race. However, once the race starts I would be amazed if any runner feels a single rain drop, instead your mind is racing with a million wonderful thoughts as you take in all the wonderful sights, sounds and sensations, and getting wet is the furthest from your mind.

We all commented at the end how breathtaking it was to see the stream of red runners for miles, zig zagging out of wembley stadium and off down the road… In any other event competitors either wear their running strip or charity vest, for this event 20,000 runners all wore the same T-shirts. There were little Nike Ants for as far as the eye could see…

The banter and chat as you run is always highly entertaining. I have never been on a run yet where, as all the competitors run through a tunnel, they do not all shout and cheer sending the echo for miles in front and behind, the feeling of camaraderie is amazing.

I totally loved every second of this race, although I am not so sure some of the other runners around me loved me so much. If there was a puddle somehow it seemed to find me, or is that vice versa and I found it? Either way I was not far off doing a very good impression of Dawn French in the wonderful Vicar of Dibley ‘puddle along the country lane’ sketch, where she jumps into the puddle and disappears into it up to her neck!

Wave 2 did not even start until 7.50pm, so by the time our team strided home, with times between 50 minutes to 1hour and 5 minutes (a very good effort towards London’s average in Race The World), it was dark. It is so hard to try and describe how amazing the feeling is running in the pouring rain, in the dark amongst 20,000 runners, all in red all loving every step of the way. It is the most invigorating feeling, and makes you feel so happy to be alive and able to compete in such amazing events and be living such wonderful moments. Nike never do the same race twice, each event has a different format, so we were all competing in a ‘one off night’ never to happen again, and we are all so glad we did not miss it. What a fabulous experience!

Thank you once again to all the team, supporters, sponsors and readers of this blog!

If you would like to read more about this event please click on the link below:

Nike plus 10k Human Race

Sebastian Coe and Paula Radcliffe

Until next time, warm and dry wishes,

Dianne and Kathryn, Abenefit2u

Kathryn, by the finish, just as we are arriving for The Human Race 10k.