Taking part in the BBC School Report tomorrow, off to the BBC studio in Manchester for the day. Been invited to go along and be interviewed about what it's like to be a torchbearer etc. It was organised by the school. I believe I'll be live on camera at some point between 9-10am tomorrow and I think you can view it by 'pressing red' on BBC or on the iPlayer online.
Very anxious! I've suffered a speech problem since I've been young due to epilepsy, which I've not let affect my schoolwork or my ambitions/goals. It's an obstacle I'll overcome- and the best way is to hit the fear head on by technically talking in front of thousands! Will post the link in a blog tomorrow. Will try and mention my Mt Blanc project tomorrow and get a link to my fundraising page, hopefully it'll pick up some interest and donations. Will make good practice for the Summer, as I've been asked to speak to my local primary school kids about the 3 Peaks and the Olympic torch, my local Brownies pack (in Tarporley) and when I run my charity night in June I'll need to make a speech! Oh, and I've been shortlisted to go to London on a torchbearer photoshoot on the 21st or 26th March. Still TBC!
That reminds me- we are looking at running our charity night party in Kelsall on the 29th June but still TBC. Originally we planned the 6th July (the one year anniversary of my 3 Peaks conincidentally) but this was unavailable. More info to follow, it's going to be a great night! Contacting some airlines for flight donations this week, the Kelsall Parish council, KADRAS, supermarkets for bag collections. And a lot more, when I get round to it that is. Progress is very slow. I've been involved with a charity called Epilepsy Action, my fellow torchbearer friend Katie works for this charity and I've sent an article written about my journey with the illness- to try and inspire other sufferers that they too can acheive their goals and that there's nothing stopping them from experiencing life. Go for it! Hopefully that article will be on the website soon so you can read it and find out more about me you didn't already know. Busy busy busy! Oh, and I got a Tweet (@alex_staniforth) yesterday saying that a man's 12 year old son had read my article on Live for Adventure and I'd inspired him to do the 3 Peaks! I'm humbled! Being able to live my own dreams is rewarding enough but to inspire others is amazing, who knows what the future will have in store for him like it did for me. Best of luck to him. Another guy has messaged me for 3 Peaks advice which I've happily given.
Lastly, I'll finish my article by going off subject and mentioning what happened last weekend! Hard to stick to one subject on one blog! More running I'm afraid. Ran the Age UK Tatton Park 10k on Sunday, at 10am, been looking forward to it for ages. Finished 2nd/530! Was 14 seconds behind the winner, couldn't quite catch him, pushing myself to the max. It was quite a weak field of runners hence my success. Best of all I smashed my PB- 37:34!! Knocked 3 mins off since a month ago. So chuffed. Was a close race, but so much excitement, the guy in 3rd chased me all the way. I threw up as I passed the line, showing how hard I ran (hope you're not eating...). Somehow I ran at 6:10 min/mile pace, I can't even run 5k at that... anyway. Awesome race, great weather, nice ground, scenery, well organised, great atmosphere. So surprised. Well done to everyone who took part! I'll be back next year. Wish I'd gone for the win, I might have been able to do it. But not far off anyway. Not sure if my race #2 was an omen or pot luck! Obviously relevant to Mt Blanc- as I'll need a very high cardiovascular fitness level, which is building all the time! There's some pics for you to see below, hope you like them. Building my fitness further by entering 5 races in April alone. Will let you know how I do.
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Prize giving on the podium
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