Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 6

10 obstaclemudrunner.co.uk ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners Why I run 2010 started off great, I got married in March and then went on honeymoon... However, between 2010 – 2014 a lot happened to change my perspective about life. In June 2010 my Mother-In- Law was diagnosed with non- hodgkins lymphoma cancer. We spent the next 4 years in and out of hospital whilst she had 22 rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant. During that time her Mum died, my Father-In-Law died of a heart attack and our home flooded, we lost everything.  It was tough and you’re probably thinking, what has this got to do with OCR? Spending a significant amount of time in the hospital made me realise what someone with cancer goes through. The treatment’s physical and mental strain on the body. The loss of physical activity, resulting in losing muscle and being unable to walk because you’re confined to a bed. Add to this the financial struggles of not being able to work. Not being able to afford the £10 a day just to watch TV in hospital or buy a book. Money pays bills, the car park charges and food with little left over. I wanted to make a difference to the people living with cancer on a daily basis. Obviously, I can’t cure it but I knew there was a way to make treatment time better. It was January 2014, I decided to get into running and obstacle racing. Before that I had no interest. My fitness consisted of stints on the cross trainer and walking on the treadmill before hitting the shower at the gym. “Gym member” box ticked. My goal was to raise enough money to pay for TV’s and DVD players for the private rooms on the cancer ward in Northampton General Hospital. The cost to the patient was £10 a day or £35 a week. Whilst, we would “smuggle a TV” into the hospital, we were aware this was not a solution for other patients. I signed up to Tough Mudder. When I told people, they laughed. No one thought I could do it and they openly told me so. The comments; “You’re too clean for that, you’re too thin for that, you’re not strong enough” etc, etc. Deep down I didn’t think I would complete it either but it made me even more determined to do it. So, I began training. At first, it nearly killed me but from the January 2014 to July 2014 I fell in love with getting fitter and stronger. I loved that feeling of making progress, and realising I could push my body to achieve great things. All of a sudden I had become a runner and it felt amazing! When the day for Tough Mudder arrived I thought “What the actual hell am I doing”? Even though I was freaking out inside I had to remind myself why I was there. This was not about me. I had to swallow down that fear of being scared of the obstacles and I knew that backing out wasn’t an option. I was scared though. Especially the water obstacles, Artic Enema ruined me – I had a panic attack because of my fear of deep water and I cried, but at the back of my mind I remembered why I was running and I did it. When I crossed the finish line, it was hands down the best achievement of life. I remember calling my Mother-In-Law, she told me she was “Proud of me”. My response was “If you can take the endless rounds of chemotherapy, injections and not being able to walk then I have no excuse.” Since that day, I continue to fundraise. We have set up our own charity The Lewis Foundation . www.thelewisfoundation.co.uk . Every Friday night we go into our local cancer ward and hand out free gift bags to adults with cancer to relieve the burden we experienced and help others. The majority of our fundraising is through running. I sometimes run solo, but I encourage people of all abilities to get involved. This year my personal challenge is to run 1000 miles CHARITY : THE LEWIS FOUNDATION what gives us the motivation Everything that happened inspired me to run and has changed my life. Running changed my life and whilst I am healthy enough to run, I will continue to do so to help others. That’s why. Lorraine I think people sponsored me, purely on the basis that they thought that I had lost the plot rather than I would actually complete it. The Lewis Foundation - www.thelewisfoundation.co.uk Providing comfort and happiness to Cancer Patients. Registered charity number: 1166405 Donation Link: https://www.justgiving.com/4w350m3/donation/direct/charity/792191#MessageAndAmount Photo: A Tough Mudder