Worcester & District Cats Protection
Celebrating 30 years of cat care in Worcestershire
Registered Charity 203644
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London MarathonEveryone here at Worcester Cats Protection is leaping for joy because Julie Draper ran the London Marathon to raise funds for us Thanks Julie, we think you are SUPER!! |
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After Julie's success in the 2007 London Marathon, she entered again in 2008 to raise more money for the Worcester & District Branch of Cats Protection. Here she recounts her experience of another 26-mile run!
London Marathon 2008
"Well here I was again, running the London Marathon. Having
enjoyed the experience in 2007 so much, I couldn't wait to sign up
again. I didn't get a place in the general ballot, so I signed up for a
charity place with Cats Protection's headquarters, where I pledged to
raise a minimum of £1,200. And we did it! In the end I raised £2,000
for the Worcester and District Branch in 2008, making a total of £4,400
over the two-year period.
The thinking caps were on for more fund-raising events to reach this
total and my husband didn't run in 2008, so he helped me with my
fund-raising. However what I didn't anticipate was him passing on his
cold to me the week before the marathon - how could he?!! Anyway, we
ate apart, we slept apart but all to no avail - the dreaded lurgie got
me in the end. We travelled to London on the Saturday, the day before
the marathon, and I was thinking to myself all the way down there,
"Please let me get through this - I've raised all this money, I must do
it".
All the books and experts tell you not to run if you have or are
recovering from colds, flu etc - but things got progressively worse. By
the time I woke up on the Sunday morning, I had a thumping headache and
there was I thinking about going out and running 26 miles - mad or
what? I hadn't slept very well and tossed and turned all night.
However we had breakfast and piled on to the coach to the start of the
race. "Fresh air", I thought, "that's what I needed to clear the head".
In actual fact by the time the race started, I didn't feel too bad. The
noticeable difference in 2008 was that I found myself counting down the
miles, whereas the year before they were flying by too fast!
Another difference in 2008 was the weather. It was scorching hot in
2007 but sun, rain and hailstones hit me in 2008! I also had a back
problem which started about a month before the 2008 London Marathon
which meant that by the time I got to about 14 miles, my back was
stiffening up. I stopped at 17 miles for a stretch and again at 19
miles and then stopped at 23 miles. This was where my husband had
joined Cats Protection's headquarters staff to say "hello"... then the
hailstones lashed down and that just about finished me off.
For the last three miles I walked and jogged and walked and jogged -
there was just nothing left in the tank - no amount of jelly babies
would help now! I wouldn't have believed two marathons could be so
different. But never mind, I got there in the end and guess what?
Despite all the stopping to stretch and walking a fair amount in the
last three miles, I was only two seconds slower than I had been in 2007
- I just couldn't believe it. I hope to better that time in 2009 -
iIlness and injury allowing!.
London Marathon 2007
I'm astounded at how well I did and what's more I didn't walk
once - I ran the whole lot and thoroughly enjoyed the whole
experience. Running down the Embankment,
Parliament Square, Bird Cage Walk and the Mall is quite something - you
feel like a celebrity as the
crowds are so great and
everyone cheering.
Having my name on my vest helped enormously as you just keep hearing your name over and over and over again. I just can't understand how the heat didn't get to me. I absolute detest the heat at the best of times. My core temperature always builds up and then I just feel so overheated. It didn't happen Sunday (thank goodness) and I daubed that much deep heat into the bottom of my back and around the top of my legs, they didn't get chance to ache!
However as the following day went on , the tops of the legs got stiffer and stiffer - the coach journey home didn't help, as we didn't leave London until 1pm on the Monday. There was a Priest on route who was waving holy water over us - it obviously worked!!!! I just found energy I have just never known before - it was amazing.
I had aimed for 5 hours, but when they said what the temperatures were going to be, I guess I would be walking a fair amount and reset my goal to around 5hrs. 30. Kevin said he would go and have his massage when he finished and then come back for me, but I had finished, collected my kit bag and walked to Hearing Dogs and he had only just finished his massage - he thought my watch must have stopped - cheek!!!!
£2400 Raised for Cats Protection - thanks again July we are really proud of you.
Julie presenting the cheque to Margaret Kimberley with Stephen Inman the Mayor of Worcester
"One small cat changes coming home to an empty house, to coming home" - Pam Brown
