Pounding the Pavements for Peace!

So I’ve been planning to set one of these pages up for a couple of months now, ever since I decided that I was going to attempt to complete my first marathon event in 2019 (i.e. to run a full before I turn 40!) and to raise some money for charity at the same time.

Then Friday 15th March 2019 happened...

Whilst pounding the pavements before sunrise on Sunday morning, I found myself unable to think of anything or anyone else. I had planned to try and raise some money for a small Auckland based charity called OKE, but I am sure that Paul and the team will understand why I feel compelled to Do something for the families of the victims (and, by doing so, pay my respects to the Muslim Community of New Zealand, not just those who call Christchurch home).

Next month, on Sunday April 14th, almost exactly a month on from a day and date that will now forever be associated with a truly horrible/horrific international terrorist attack in central Christchurch, I will be getting up before sunrise to run Auckland’s Waterfront Half Marathon for the first time. It will be my first 21km since becoming a father for a second time, and a good test to see if I have what it takes to run twice that distance on September 8th (date of the 2019 North Shore Marathon).

Please help me add some more meaning to both April 14th and September 8th, by giving a little (or a lot) to show your support to those who will have to live with the consequences of Friday 15th March 2019 for the rest of their lives. I promise to organise another event or to run another race to raise money for OKE.

I normally arrange a sweepstake that rewards the person who pays to guess the closest to my finish time, but that doesn’t feel right on this occasion.