Hi

This is just to let you know how I got on at the Glasgow Women’s 10k yesterday, and a thanks to you for sponsoring me! The photo attached is how I looked after it.

So far I have raised £650 for Leukaemia CARE and have done two events:

- the Santa Dash in December 08 (27 minutes)
- the Women’s 10k on Sunday the 10th of May.

And I have one more event to go – the Wick Triathlon in August.

On Sunday I finished the 10k with a time of 48: 33 minutes - personal best for me! I came in 287th out of 10,740 runners.
It seems like the training I’ve put in really helped. The day was good and the atmosphere was brilliant.

I’d just like to say a big thanks to you for sponsoring me and motivating me to train and complete the 10k. Now I look forward to the next few months of training and the triathlon!!

Thanks again, and if you know of anyone else who might like to sponsor me, please forward on my just giving link:

www.justgiving.com/lornpearson

Flora London marathon, Sunday April 26th 2009

Our fantastic runner from Milton Keynes Chris Worton wore the Bertie suit in Sunday's London Marathon: what an achievement! He even made it onto the bbc, to see the footage click here. Looking relatively fresh too at the post race party! Here are a few pics from the day:

Bertie, aka Chris
The party at the Naval & Military Club
The staff and volunteers
A family waiting for their runner to return

Our team of student and professional massage therapist volunteers helped ease the aches and pains of almost 60 runners who attended the party. They had a great day too and we'd like to thank them all for their time and effort. It was a long day for staff and volunteers, setting out from Worcester at 5.30am and getting back at 10.30approx. Still, it was well worth it and we loved meeting our wonderful runners and their families!


The final word comes from our runners:
Daniel Wagener:
Many thanks for your email and your and your colleagues support before and after the race.
It was a very difficult race and I really struggled after 30k but managed to finish in the respectable time of 3:57.
It was a shame that I could not make it to the post race party but I had quite a few people over to support me and did not want to swamp the venue!
Altogether I have now raised c. £4,700 which I am sure you will be able to put to good use. Most of the sponsoring was done via the justgiving site (http://www.justgiving.com/daniellondon09)...
Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to run the marathon and raise money on your behalf and perhaps if the memories about the painful run this year have faded I can do it again!
Glen Tinton:
Hi Nicky, Clare. A big thanks for allowing me to run, albeit perhaps yesterday around mile 20 I possibly was not thinking that same sentiment. I set out to raise £2000 and look like hitting £3550.
Nick Elia:
Hi Guys, Just a quick email to say thanks for Sunday. I thought the venue and the facilities were great. You made us feel like heroes
The massage students were also great so if you could send on my thanks it would be appreciated.
I limped home in 5hrs 17 mins … not the time I was hoping but at least got round in one piece. That was my fourth London Marathon on the trot and my third for Leukaemia Care – I would like to say it gets easier every year but unfortunately it doesn’t !
I have already applied again for next year’s Virgin London Marathon but would like to accept one of your allocated charity places for next year. I will of course raise funds for you if I get a place in the ballot.
Chris Worton:
Thanks very much for all the fantastic help and support provided by all of the LC team at the weekend, it is just what we need after the hard work and stress of the marathon – lots of care and pampering.
Fleur Stafford
Was a brilliant day and I will definately do another one if only to beat my time which I am disappointed with. I finished in 4.53 which is quite a bit slower than expected but the heat, crowds, dodgey tummy all contributed to that one! The first 16 miles were fab and I was on track for 4.20 and then I felt incredibly sick for a few miles (gels, heat, nerves...) and then back on track for the last 6 miles but by then it was too late to worry too much about my time so I just cruised along and had a great time for the last hour.
I felt brilliant on Sunday and even yesterday but think I have the post marathon blues today...what on earth am I supposed think and talk about now!!?? Already thinking of my next challenge!!
Nick Cochran and Natalie Bogaerts:
We had a fantastic day and are already thinking about 2010 despite the pain!
Thank you and the team on the day for being such a nice, helpful and thoughtful group of people. Every time someone saw we were with Leukaemia Care they checked we were ok, gave us water, offered to show us to the Naval and Military club and made us feel so special!
The facilities were perfect, nice and clean and private for a quick shower, then downstairs for a massage or food and drinks.
10/10 for everything. We're going to enter the London ballot this week and will run for you next year if we are successful, we are also looking to do some fund raising when we run in the Royal Parks race in October.

Wow, thank you guys!

Give us money! (Well not "us" exactly, Leukemia Care in fact, and I'd also like to add a "pretty please"

Message from Rhian Sneade

We have 20 days before the pain begins (I should say increases- having completed a 13 mile run today, everything hurts!). Firstly I'd like to say a big cheers to all that have sponsored us and helped out so far.

I am sorry to pester you all, especially due to the fact that times are particularly hard financially and for those fellow students I am aware that living off the tail end of the loan can be difficult. This is however an excellent cause and we do have a very, very long way still to go to reach our target. Leukemia Care is a fantastic charity and one which we chose for good reason.

Sooooooo...pretty please help us in any way you can. If you are unable to sponsor us but have some fundraising ideas, know people who can help us out, or have a few hours spare to sell cakes or something please contact myself (Rhi), Jen or Elle. Our Just Giving page is an easy way to donate, although feel free to donate in any of the other usual ways (I find that being handed money always feels nice, even if the money isn't actually for me!):

www.justgiving.com/coopertroopers

Exploding Home Made Wine

It's Marathon season and many fundraisers are heavily involve with their fundraising and training in readiness for the fast-approaching London Marathon.

Many have stories of epic proportions that show the heart and generosity of Team Bertie and make working for Leukaemia CARE. Here is one story sent in by Daniella di Padova.
I spoke to a nice lady from your office last Friday 27 Feb 2009, who called to ask how I am getting on with my training...

I am very much looking forward to running the marathon next month. Can't believe that it is already next month, it has gone quick... Well this is how we did it (raised my sponsorship). I say we because my whole family have been involved and helped.

We started last May, firstly my sister did "guess how many sweets in a jar" at her work place. Then our hairdresser kindly sold raffle tickets for us and the prize was a spa day. I did a poster to explain why I was raising the money and people gave willingly for this good cause.

Then the most part of the money was raised by cooking days. You see, we are an Italian family and my father does some lovely authentic home cooking, like nothing you could buy in the shops. We make "Pasta Al Forno", Italian meatballs and rice with italian sauce, tiramisu, cherry pie and at Christmas we did mince and apple pies.

So we would do cooking and sell to family, friends and work colleagues. It proved very successful. Work collegaues were even buying to take home, saving them having to good in the evening.

We would cook all weekend, then store in friends fridges; sometimes we did 70 portions of pasta. (I have included 2 pictures of the pasta dishes that we were cooking). We seemed like a little factory in our house and it looked like a military mission. Then on Monday my sister, mum and myself would leave the house with suitcases full of food in cold storage bags, to sell in our work places. People must have been thinking that we go on holiday very often! We work up London and had to traipse the suitcases on the underground which was a difficult job.

Our companies have been very kind in letting us sell the food on their work premises and my mum's company let her use the boardroom to offer sit down meals where she also served drinks.

We make homemade wine and at one particular food event while getting ready for the first diners to arrive she opened one of our homemade brews. Well the wine decided to explode (it was a 2 litre bottle) all over the place and to shield the room my mum placed herself over the bottle; she ended up soaked in wine from head to foot with the wine dripping from her chin.

But devastation had already been caused as the wine had soaked TV sets, computer equipment,
leather furniture, carpet and white walls.

It was amazing how kind and helpful her work colleagues were, who set about scrubbing and cleaning the room before the first guests arrived. They were scrubbing the walls with bleach in their office clothes; it was crazy! All looked fine except for the white walls, the stains wouldn't come off, it spread 6 feet one way and 4 feet on another wall. The boss had to be told; he wasn't
likely not to notice. Mum offered to pay for the walls to be painted, for which the money would have come from our own pocket not from the sponsorship raised. But the boss said that the company would foot the bill as it was for charity and such a good cause. It shows the kindness of people. Mum was very upset but we laugh about it now and it's a funny story to tell. The boss said that mum could still use the room for these fund raising events but to leave the home
made brew at home as it's too lively for their white walls!

So that is how we managed to raise the £1,300.00 and now I can concentrate on my training and raising more money via sponsorship.

I feel honored to be running for a charity such as yours and thank you for letting me do it.

Thank you Daniella for sharing your experience with us, we've lived through it with you!
Sponsor Daniella online: www.justgiving.com/danieladipadova

Event update

Great Manchester Run
Do you know anyone who would like to take part in the BUPA Great Manchester Run? Please help Leukaemia CARE by forwarding this invitation to be part of Team Bertie at this event to any friends or running partners who you think might be up to the challenge. We have a limited number of places in the Great Manchester Run so please email the fundraising team for your entry form. The event is on 17th May and all we ask is a donation to secure your place of £40*. We ask all runners entering this run to pledge to raise £250 for Leukaemia CARE. In order to not miss out we need to have everyone's place allocated by beginning of April - so if you are interested in this opportunity please let us know and as ever please... spread the word!
*this donation is non refundable and non transferrable however this does not affect runners deferring their place.

ING New York Marathon
Exciting News! Get your place in the ING New York Marathon through Leukaemia CARE. This is a popular event so please, if you are interested, don't delay!!! You can book your place by clicking from the event page on our website. Our tour operator is Sports Tours International and we are asking our runners to raise a minimum sponsorship of £1000 above the price of your chosen package. Packages start at £1349 per person for 3 nights or there are also flight only deals if you have more flexible travel plans. Call us for more information on 0845 521 3456.

Glasgow Events
Please let us know if you are interested in taking part in any of the many Glasgow runs - Leukaemia CARE is considering buying places but we're not sure what the demand is like. Please email the fundraising team to let us know and as ever please... spread the word!

Collecting Tins
We are running out of collecting tins and buckets because our fundraisers are not sending them back! If you have any collecting tins or buckets that you do not expect to use in the near future then please can you send them in to the Fundraising Team, Leukaemia CARE, 1 Birch Court, Blackpole East, Worcester WR3 8SG. Likewise can you pass the message on to anyone you know? Many thanks for your cooperation in keeping Leukaemia CARE's admin costs low.


For help information or support with a leukaemia, lymphoma or a myeloma call 0800 169 6680 or visit www.leukaemiacare.org.uk

Reading Marathon: one of the lucky few

John Matthews has been one of the lucky few to get one of our limited places in the Reading Marathon 2008. He wrote in to let us know how he's getting on, god love him. Good luck John!:

Training in the winter is not so much fun, having said that the crunchy light snow we had a couple of weeks ago was a bit of a novelty.

I'm glad to be able to run and grateful for the place... I will have run the Eastborne half three weeks before and will run the London Marathon a month later for DELTA a deaf education charity of which I am a director. So your place for me as part of the training is very valuable.
I had a major rectal cancer operation June 28 2007 and now have an internal pouch constructed from a bit of colon, can be interesting sometimes. I started running 10 months ago to regain fitness and because I had a secret ambition to be able to, 'take to the streets' but had failed to pluck up the courage. So now I have run the British London 10K - 1:07, the Bristol Half - 2:30 and the Great North - 2:24 and have raised around £2,500 - done two radio interviews, featured in lots of newspapers and have more being set up, possibly regional TV, before the LM.

People have been very generous but I'm running out of target groups so any ideas will be welcome, running is the easy bit, raising the cash is harder.

So I'll set up the justgiving site today ... A friend of mine in his sixties at church recovered from 'Non Hogkinsons' a few years ago and is still well I'm glad to say and I'll be 70, 3 weeks before Reading 2:10 is the target, we'll see. And still working full time.

Well that's the introduction if you can make any mileage out of the story then that's fine - cancer can be beaten - and by the Grace of God and the skill of the team at the John Radcliffe I'm here to run the race (:>)

God bless
John

For help information or support with a leukaemia, lymphoma or a myeloma call 0800 169 6680 or visit www.leukaemiacare.org.uk

Matt George and and Elaine Hancock

Thanks for the pics guys!

For help information or support with a leukaemia, lymphoma or a myeloma call 0800 169 6680 or visit www.leukaemiacare.org.uk