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© LNRACF 2012 |
C Company NewsLt Colin Wells completes The Great North and Great South runs for C “Tiger” Company’s chosen Charity, The Forces Children’s TrustOn Sunday 3oth October, I will complete my 10th Great North Run and my 9th Great South Run, along with many others in between. This year I am running (tabbing!!!) to raise awareness and money for C “Tiger” Company’s chosen charity “Forces Children’s Trust”. I guess that it doesn’t sound all that difficult to do these runs, but me being the adventurous type or Nuts (Mrs Wells’ words), I make it that little bit more difficult by wearing Full Combats, Boots and Beret, a 20 kilo Bergen with a flag of some description (even one year a 6ft by 3ft Help for Hero’s flag) and carrying a collection bucket. My day usually starts with a breakfast of Porridge, with lots of sugar (made by my ever suffering wife!!). I then put my Uniform on and check that I have everything I need, Running Number, Timing Chip attached to my Boot. Water in my Camalbac, Jelly Babies and Wine Gums in my Map Pocket and a few Milky Ways in my bucket, (Ooh and not forgetting bus fare and my favourite running partner Chewing Gum!!). Then, off to the start point..... This is the worst part of all events; you get nervous, even after about 35 of them. Wait around feeling the rest of the runners start to get excited about the next few hours of their lives. Then we are off. I run at a slow steady pace, collecting every bit of loose change that people are generous to give. After a few miles I will empty the bucket into a pouch on my Bergen and carry on, having a Jelly Baby or Wine Gum on the way. On the Great North and South Runs, I see many of the usual faces who are out cheering all the runners on. The atmosphere that they create helps keep you going and just when you think “that’s it I’m done” you get another person shouting support. By the time I get to the end of these events I can hardly put one foot in front of the other, but I have not yet finished, so on I push. Then, suddenly, there it is the Finish Line; another one done. Whilst running these events, I have been interviewed a few times, and the one question that I get asked is “Why do it?”, and the only real answer I can think of is "because I still can" I hope that I have helped raise money for some very good & worthwhile charities and in some small way helped. Some of the Charities I have raised money for over the years include, Get Kids Going, Macmillan Cancer, Born Free, Help for Heroes, ABF and now Forces Childrens Trust. This year is my last year of doing these events (Mrs Wells begs to differ) and I will miss them, but Father Time and Mother Nature are telling me its time to stop. (We will see ;-)) Lt Colin Wells |