In Loving Memory....

In the early hours on July 28th a wondrous bright light was extinguished. My dear Mum passed away in St Francis Hospice Blanchardstown Dublin after a brief illness. That was a wonderful place which now has a piece of my heart and I can't praise the staff highly enough. Forever in their debt I was told they loved my mother too. She had a great sense of humour and had such a laugh with them all. What they did for her will never be forgotten.

                                      Floral tributes from my brother and I though everyone bought flowers for mum. Mine is the heart shaped one.

Miss you forever Mum and as you knew I am dedicating my Manchester Half Marathon on October 16th to you. I know you will be with me. xxx

Manchester 10k 'fun run' 2016

This time last Sunday (22nd May) Myself and 3 friends ran the Manchester 10k but just for fun. That is, this is the one and only time I haven't ran for the cause...Starfish. Felt strange but so good to see lots of runners around me running for so many good causes. To my surprise I was up front in the White wave, bib number 9499, I don't know how that happened but as it turns out there were plenty of us in this wave. Total number of runners today is 35000. I was excited to do this run for 2 reasons. Firstly because it has been 6 years since I last ran in Manchester and I have really missed it. Secondly, this was a reunion run with my friends. We first ran together (my first ever run) back in May 2002 in what was then the Women's only 5 mile run. It became the Manchester 10k run the following year in May 2003. This was my first run to raise funds for The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association. Here is a rather fuzzy polaroid group photo of the four of us.

From L to R: Ally, Angela, Kirstie and I










I got lucky with the weather this year and enjoyed the run. The lineup isn't quite the same as it was 15 years ago. A busy woman with 2 young kids, Angela hadn't found time to train and felt it best to drop out sadly but she met up with us after wards for a meal. Instead Kirsties sister-in-law Emma made up the foursome. All 3 of them were in the green wave behind me so I'd always had a feeling we wouldn't actually bump into each other at the event let alone run togther lol. I was right but this didn't stop up enjoying our respective runs and taking photo's. My run started at 11.55am and I was almost finished when the others started theirs at 1.10pm. We never saw each other on route either. 

 Here I am before the run looking very happy

 And standing in the white wave starting area.

Of course there is the obligatory Selfie too:

 Here I am at the beginning of the run.

Then again shortly after that. Can you see me? This run was televised live on BBC2 from 11am-1pm and a friend thinks she saw me. Having watched a recording, I can't see myself so need to watch it again. Unfortunately Glynn couldn't see me at the finishline to get a photo but thats not the end of the world. As this was a fun run I wasn't expecting a PB although that would've been nice. Over halfway through this run I suddenly developed a pain in the left side of my abdomen which slowed me down a little. It went as fast as it came but then I developed a migraine in my left eye which stayed with me. So my run time was 1 hour and 10 minutes, 21 seconds. I am fine with that. I felt like I could have kept on running which is good news and as soon as I stopped I did feel sick. It took me thebest part of a week to get rid of this mysterious migraine and thus not feel sick. You can see from my postrun pix I don't look good lol 

   
Whilst the weather had been perfect for me it suddenly turned as the green wave embarked on their run. 



 We waited in the finish area for my friends and the rain was heavy by now and wrapped in a silver foil blanket I was cold so we went for a coffee then back to the hotel. 

Meanwhile...

Emma, Ally and Kirstie.

 Well done ladies, proud of you! I hour and 27 minutes each.

we  met up at the hotel having booked a room to shower and change in. Glynn and I waited in the hotel bar to meet Angela and we ended up having a couple of (soft) drinks and chatting. I then joined the others updtairs to shower, change and drink wine. Being ill I took the non-alcoholic variety. It was fun. We found a local quite swish indian restaurant and took a group photo. It was a fun day altogether even though in the end we didn't run together. Our food was good and the staff so nice and we spent the evening catching up, reminiscing about our university days and of course talked about the run. This was a fab idea thanks Kirstie, she who got me into running all those years ago. 

Kirstie, Emma, Angela, Ally and me

 


  Well done to everyone who took part and thanks to the amazing people who supported and cheered us on all the way. I am well rested now and shall restart running tomorrow, Bank Holiday Monday. I am really looking forward to what will be I guess my first training run for the Manchester Half Marathon in October. My next run for the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association. I can't thank them enough for hosting a webpage for me. They have even included this one. I can only love em for it!

 This means of course I am now accepting sponsorship and wish once again to thank the very generous friends and supporters from all across the globe. I can't do this without you, you all rock! You can keep up tp date with me on Facebook or keep an eye out here  Sarahs runs4Starfish

So I shall leave you with a photo of me wearing the official Manchester 10k run 2016 t-shirt and holding my medal. Just to prove I am happy and well again. Love Sarah xxx

   

Too much exercise may kill you

I am posting this link here mainly for the TED Talk and as a reminder that even with exercise moderation is key. I hope you find it interesting and useful too.

TEDTalk

Love S x

Manchester Half Marathon 2016

It is with much excitement and my great pleasure to tell you that on Sunday 16th October 2016 I will be running in the Manchester Half Marathon. This will be the first time that this half Marathon has taken place and also the first time in 6 years that I have ran in Manchester. I have missed it and have now started my training. This began with a healthy eating to lose a few pounds and I have stopped swimming which I shall replace with running. Having moved house I now have a new running route too. I will get used to it but it is abit on the hilly side. It will come as no surprise to my lovely regular supporters that I am doing this to raise funds for my favourite non-profit organisation as I have done for the past 15 years. I hope to raise as much as I can for The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association and would love your support. It really means alot to them and to me and they host a webpage for my runs. Something I am grateful for to spread the word of my venture. Here is a link to find out all about that Sarahs Manchester Half Marathon 2016 I also have a Facebook Page too where you can keep track of how I am doing and of course I would love interaction and comments SarahsMcrHalfMarathon2016 Please consider supporting me by making a donation, every penny, cent etc really does make a difference. I accept all currencies and the easiest way is by Paypal. I have a donate button for this on my own website if you go to the 'sponsoring me' page.

Sarah's Tracks

I sincerely hope you will follow my journey and consider sponsoring me and of course learn about 'Starfish'. Thank you for reading.

Love Sarah xxx

Could we cure HIV with lasers?

TED Talk

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Runners! I hope you achieve all you want to in 2016 both on and off the race track <3 nbsp="" p="">
 I will be back soon with news of my next run for The Rutger Hauer Starfish Association


Plans are already underway but I can't say more just yet BUT very soon ;)

I don't know the song this is parodying but this video is hilarious. I wanted to share it in a blog post but also so that can find it easily and watch over and over. I find it inspiring in a perverse sort of way too.  LOL



Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016.