Inspiring the Old and the Young!!

James Barker, in Suffolk, tells of how Project 65 has inspired a rather unusual audience to take action...

If you had said to me 3 years ago that I would be training to take part in a 65 mile run I would have laughed - as would my doctor! At that point in time I was overweight, unfit & suffering with high blood pressure(200/130!!!) and I was told not to undertake any physical activity until I had been checked at the hospital. After several months of the Doctors “experimenting” with medication I was considered stable enough to start some exercise & promptly set myself some goals. Shed some weight (2st), completed a fun run & the London to Brighton Bike Ride. After 6 months of exercise I was discharged from the Consultant’s care & have never looked back.

And look at me now…! Well not too closely , but I am well on the way to being fit enough to undertake the Project 65 challenge.

Not only that, but my teenage daughter , although suitably embarrassed by the prospect of her Dad appearing in the local press, (and all her mates seeing me) has decided to join in the action.

Her first reaction was that if a photograph was going in the press then no way was her Dad to appear in plastic, lycra, rubber or PVC (her understanding of running gear is a little off the mark - wicking to her is something completely different than it is to me!)

However, having got over the shock of the imminent press release, she then decided to have a go herself. I mean, if an “old man” like her Dad can do it, it can’t be too hard! Can it? Ha Ha Ha.

During the week she expends most of her energy doing her make-up & hair, and avoiding PE at school so to even offer to attempt a run was quite amazing. After I’d picked myself up off the floor we agreed that we would go out together that weekend. So, yesterday morning arrived, and I had expected her to have done a 'Harry Houdini' on me, but no, she appeared in her trendy tracksuit & glitzy “designer” trainers, forewent her normal make-up routine & we headed off (at a very slow & steady pace - her run, my warm up to the proceeding 10 miler)

The first hurdle to overcome was the horror of passing people without her 'face' on - desperately seeking ground cover whenever anyone came near! The next the peril of running in the countryside was getting mud on her precious pumps. The other potential show stopper was her breathing - her lung expansion had never really been tested before and we had several 'I’m gonna pass out or throw up, Dad!' drama queen statements. However, despite her lack of fitness she showed a steely determination to get to each of the 'markers' I gave her and to my surprise and delight, in fact exceeded many of them. After 2.6 miles she made it home thinking that she was about to expire, but once she’d got her breath back both she and the rest of the family were very impressed by her achievement - not least her very proud Dad. I then left her to recover and headed off into the distance.

It remains to be seen whether she joins me again, but she definitely wants to come to the unveiling ceremony in France and is now a little more aware of the importance of Project65 and the efforts of everyone involved - even her old Dad!!

Were off to Spain in a couple of weeks, maybe I can persuade her to run on the beach with me while we’re there. Or maybe not - I’ll keep you posted!

Looking forward to meeting everyone at Woburn in May. (Maybe she can run the 5k or even the 10k at Woburn?! - Ed)