Run a Course; Run for a Cause; Run at all Cost

Run a Course; Run for a Cause; Run at all Cost!

The title says it all. Do read on for what I’m running to raise funds for.

Run a Course

This summer (or winter if you’re from Downunder!) on 20 Jun 2015, I’ll be running 3 times round the Jonndalup Lake Circuit which is a 17.5 km relatively flat scenic shared path that circuits Lake Joondalup in north of the river, Perth!

For more information on the route, you can click here.

Run for a Cause

Last summer in Jun 2014, I spent about a month teaching voluntarily at an after-school programme in Oropesa, a town about 24 km from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. This year, I cannot be there but I hope to do something with my time and effort by continuing to raise funds for Globalteer, a UK-based non-profit charity organization that supports this community project at Picaflor House.

With your kind support, I hope to raise US2500 to support their programme for a year and this is a breakdown of the various activities in Picaflor House that Globalteer is currently supporting:

• US$15 a month pays for health and hygiene classes ( a year = US180)
• US$30 a month pays for electricity and running water at Picaflor House (a year = US360)
• US$50 a month pays for educational resources at Picaflor House (a year = US600)
• US$100 a month pays for the general up-keep, cleaning and maintenance of Picaflor House and the playground (a year = US1200)

For more details should you want to support this cause further, click here.

This fund-raising attempt is to give back to the children of Picaflor House the immeasurably rich experience I got from my volunteer stint. This is a short account of what I learned whilst there.

Run at all Cost

People run for all reasons. I ran my first ever marathon, The Standard Chartered HK Marathon 2009, to prove that I can finish the 42.195km and more importantly, I wanted to run on the Tsing Ma Bridge! I ran my second marathon at The San Francisco Marathon 2014 in memory of my late partner and I got to run on the Golden Gate Bridge . This year, I would like to run 50km because it has always been a dream of mine to add an ultramarathon to my running portfolio and what better time to begin then when I turn 50 this year with the shortest of ultramarathon!

Training for long distances comes at a huge cost. I am currently at my lowest in terms of fitness and though the spirit is willing, every time when I lace my shoe and run, my bones are creaking and cracking, my muscles are burning and fasciculating and my lungs pounding and exploding, all in loud cacophonic protests.

However, the immense pleasure that one derives when one crosses the finish line is an inexplicable nirvanic euphoria that drives one to continue running……..at all cost! So, mixing this 50km run with a fund-raising attempt would, I hope, propel my tired legs forward as the Joondalup Circuit is not an official race course. The finish at Neil Hawkins Park will be entirely personal. Hence, it is in knowing that I’m running to support a cause with other people, like your kind self, supporting with your donations, I believe I will be able to complete the 2 ¾ circuit course and run at all cost to achieve a dream!