Brighton Marathon 2019
Recently we have added another event to the #upandrun 2019 series — running to increase the awareness of the problem of pain; the No.1 global health burden.
On 14th April I will be running the Brighton Marathon jointly for UP (Understand Pain) and CRPS UK, two years after a similar project with the London Marathon. The Brighton Marathon is celebrating 10 years, so congratulations to the designers and organisers for achieving the milestone. The weekend is packed with different events including mini races for younger runners. And it is all by the sea, so we can be breathing in that sea air as we run along the route. I can’t wait!
The CRPS UK team will be in the Charity Village so do come and say hello. I will also be around before and after the race to chat.
Fundraising, an UP workshop and quiz night
This is a fundraiser as well as an awareness event. The money that is kindly donated goes towards the work of both CRPS UK and UP. There will be several associated events: (1) an Understand Pain Workshop for people suffering chronic pain to learn about what they can do to move forward with practical knowledge and skills (2) a quiz night at Wags N Tales in Surbiton. The quiz night we held in 2017 was a great success. People came from from far and wide to support us, enjoying the quiz, the company and the food. As soon as dates and other details are confirmed, we will broadcast the information.
Isle of Wight Challenge
The next event is in May when I will be spending the Bank Holiday weekend trotting round the island coastal path.
I am really excited about this run because it will be my first ultramarathon, covering 106km over the two days. The scenery is stunning around the Isle of Wight, so a combination of the beautiful coast and the camaraderie with fellow runners awaits.
Race to the Stones 2019
Two months later in July, The Race to the Stones will take me… ‘from the Chilterns to the mystical North Wessex Downs past mighty iron age forts, ancient monuments and through some of Britain’s most stunning landscapes’, along a 5000 year old route. I love the mystical element, but I will not be dressing up!
With these great events coming up soon, training is occupying a good amount of my ‘spare’ time. Clocking up the plodding miles so far has been surprisingly enjoyable, despite tough periods of running with tired legs, various tightnesses and twitches and restless nights. One of the main reasons is the purpose behind #upandrun. Knowing and reminding oneself of the purpose is a strong motivator to both get out there and to keep going. These are also metaphors for life, and many can be found in the running world.
On my shirt is the UP logo, and just seeing that and knowing what it represents drives me onwards. Behind it is the day to day work of sharing the latest understanding of pain so that as a society we can reduce the suffering and the financial burden. Recent figures suggest that the annual cost of chronic pain in Europe is in the region of €441bn. The stats are similar in the US. And then there is the rest of the world. This is truly a global problem of enormous scale that I believe we can make an impact upon by developing our thinking in line with current understanding and models of pain.
RS
understand pain 