So for some crazy reason I have yet to work out, I have signed up to do a leg of the Belfast City Marathon on Monday 6 May. I do not voluntarily run and have never really been for a run in my life so I have just over a month to prepare to run the admittedly short distance of 4.3 miles.
Thankfully there's a team of us here at Corrymeela who are all doing this together. So many in fact that we have two relay teams of staff and volunteers in the marathon this year.
So, why are we running? Many of us have given up our time to come to volunteer at Corrymeela and believe in the power of volunteering to provide opportunities for people to grow, develop and learn so that we can give back to communities around the world when we leave but also to contribute to the work of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland in some small way. Not only is this a way of giving back to Corrymeela through fundraising but it is also a way of raising money to allow people who may not be able to afford to fund their own way here to have this opportunity. Any money we raise is going to help those people (particularly from developing countries) who would not otherwise have this opportunity.
If you would like to provide moral support or make a donation then anything is greatly appreciated! This is the link: www.justgiving.com/Corrymeelamarathon To find out more about volunteering at Corrymeela or to read some testimonials from former volunteers visit www.corrymeela.org/volunteer
So, to my first run (I'm not counting doing laps of Corrymeela when I can't leave site). I kept it pretty easy and did a route I'm familiar with from walking there fairly often. Corrymeela to Marconi's Cottage and back again. It's roughly two miles according to Google maps so I didn't do too badly on my first try. In my head I'm thinking if I can get it to ten minutes a mile then that's a fairly steady pace for an amateur and I was back in 22 minutes (and admittedly did walk most of the way up the hill on the last bit!)
Only four and a half weeks to go!
Thankfully there's a team of us here at Corrymeela who are all doing this together. So many in fact that we have two relay teams of staff and volunteers in the marathon this year.
So, why are we running? Many of us have given up our time to come to volunteer at Corrymeela and believe in the power of volunteering to provide opportunities for people to grow, develop and learn so that we can give back to communities around the world when we leave but also to contribute to the work of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland in some small way. Not only is this a way of giving back to Corrymeela through fundraising but it is also a way of raising money to allow people who may not be able to afford to fund their own way here to have this opportunity. Any money we raise is going to help those people (particularly from developing countries) who would not otherwise have this opportunity.
If you would like to provide moral support or make a donation then anything is greatly appreciated! This is the link: www.justgiving.com/Corrymeelamarathon To find out more about volunteering at Corrymeela or to read some testimonials from former volunteers visit www.corrymeela.org/volunteer
So, to my first run (I'm not counting doing laps of Corrymeela when I can't leave site). I kept it pretty easy and did a route I'm familiar with from walking there fairly often. Corrymeela to Marconi's Cottage and back again. It's roughly two miles according to Google maps so I didn't do too badly on my first try. In my head I'm thinking if I can get it to ten minutes a mile then that's a fairly steady pace for an amateur and I was back in 22 minutes (and admittedly did walk most of the way up the hill on the last bit!)
Only four and a half weeks to go!
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