Inkymole Is Running For Cash: The Final Analysis!

No. of runners: 15,000 (ish)
Miles: 13.1 / 21.09km
Amount of cash raised for Mind: £1061 and counting
Chip time: 2 h 30 mins
How long did that silly grin stay on my face? 2 h 30 mins!
Place finish: 9433rd
No. of stops/pauses to walk: 0
No. of bottles of water: 3
No. of Strawberry Shot blox: 5
Silly running costumes spotted: 4 - a fish, a dinosaur, a 3D Mind logo, a ballerina
Chances of me doing it again: 100%

Crikey, I am my dad in this picture!



The day was overcast, cool, with outbreaks of sun or gentle cool breezes just when we needed them - and the most breathtaking atmosphere. I was so excited, and the miles just flew by, as did Buckingham Palace, Pall Mall, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, the Millennium Eye, and the Thames - if you'd like to see the route here it is.

Thanks to every client, friend, relative, neighbour, yoga classmate and fellow illustrator who tucked cash into my trainers. I had an excellent time, and am already getting 'the twitch' for the next one.

If you were one of those (and you know who you are!) who were 'waiting to see if I did it' before chipping in - well, here's (www.virginmoneygiving.com/inkymole) where you go to make good on that promise!

Can't wait to get out for a run again, at the end of the week. Meanwhile here's my sustainable wooden medal. Nice!

Inkymole Is Running For Cash, Part Two: Runner No. 14749

It's been two months since I put up Part One of this blog. And in that time, there's been a large amount of running of course (this month I hit two 'highests': longest run and most amount of miles in a month), but what's been really fascinating is all the psychological wrangling.

You see I knew this would be hard work on the legs. Obviously. But I'm surprised that it's been relatively easy to raise my distances from where I was in June (about 5 miles for an average run) to 'nearly-there'. What I should have predicted though, but didn't, was the BRAIN's role in gearing up for the 13.1 miles in October.

I go to the gym for weight training and have done since I was 23. Many times over those years I've slacked off, made no progress for weeks, then been reminded that your body will more or less do what you need it to - but only if the brain allows. I've been tricked into lifting 20 extra pounds, or accidentally put 5kg on extra by accident, and still lifted the weight: because the brain thinks nothing is different, it just gets on with the job. And that's how I've had to look at it: it's a job I've got to get on with like any other. But training has been tricky to maintain in a zen-like flow because it only takes a pressured workload, a headache, or something that's really worrying me, and the Control Centre sends out 'woah! this is hard!' messages.

Remember this little fella? The tiny alien that sat inside the big alien's head was in charge of everything, and when he got tired or injured, the big fella struggled. That's what happens to me. Look at his tired little eyeballs. So the focus lately has been on looking after this chap, and making sure he's calm and ready in his tiny cockpit.

Rather apt then that I'm running for Mind. The brain is just so powerful, yet staggeringly fragile too. At the start, my aim for the half marathon was merely to survive it; now I'd like to do it with some style - not fast, since that's another issue and another blog! - but with a certain amount of confidence and dignity.

We're up to £544 - but I've promised to raise a grand. Thank you hugely for all the dosh so far; people have been embarrassingly generous. Go here to tuck some of your own cash into the waistband of my slightly worn-out running shorts: http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/inkymole

Or here to read about what Mind is, and what they do: http://www.mind.org.uk/about

Inkymole Is Running For Cash: Part One.

I've been running recreationally for two years and intend to carry on doing so. It's just that I've decided to throw in something which is a bit of a stretch. Having read Haruki Murakami's book 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' and how it is inexorably connected with his creative process, I realised that having found running, it was very unlikely I would ever stop.

Thus, I'm intending to run my first half-marathon on October 10th in London to raise money for Mind. It took me about five days to decide, because a half marathon needs proper training, which means commitment to regular runs at certain times. Clients would have to be ignored to get them done. Jobs might have to be finished early to accommodate them. I might have to (gasp) go out running in the rain. But I get to RUN further than I've ever gone. It's the Royal Parks Half Marathon through the parks of London, and should be a lovely route.

When I run, particularly on the long ones, my mind clears, calms and refreshes. I come back ready to tackle anything. I want to feel like that all the time, but am in a pressured industry where such spells are rare and precious. I also know how close I've come on occasion to 'losing it'. At least, I thought I did, until I started to discover friends who really had 'lost it', and learned just how commonplace and misunderstood, and how devastating, a poorly brain can be. The unfortunate popular figurehead for mental illness in recent years, Stuart Goddard (aka Adam Ant) describes it as 'a fist in the skull'. And 1 in 4 people will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives. 1 in FOUR. Mind has therefore been my charity of choice for many years, and I'm honoured to be on their running team. More on Mind here: http://www.mind.org.uk/about

I've committed to raising £1000 minimum as part of my agreement with the charity. That's 200 people flinging a fiver my way. There are 600+ people in my address book and at least 50 people read this blog. Should be easy, right...?

Here's the page which makes donation a whole lot easier than going round your neighbours' houses with your Dad carrying a pen and a sponsor form from school:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/inkymole

- I do the sweating, they rattle the tin!

I really appreciate all your support, and I thank you in advance from the bottom of my weary trainers.

Status report: Currently running 7.25 miles. Speed needs to improve and I need to watch my knees! More leg presses and abs required. And don't bother with the Go energy gels again - they taste like Satan's wrung-out socks.