I want this post however to be about the group motivators, not my personal ones. Twitter accounts such as @takeachallenge, @6amClub, @12pmClub, 6pmClub, @2012milesin2012 the list goes on. These guys reach hundreds & thousands of people with each tweet, inspiring & motivating people of all abilities to get out there and exercise or train for a personal goal, to push and challenge yourself whilst at the same time helping & supporting others.
Chris (@takeachallenge) was the first account like this that I followed, Chris is the perfect balance of an ANIMAL and a true gent, a long run to him lasts days not miles, he's a very humble man with a fantastic story of determination driving him in his quest to help others. Chris set up a very basic concept of @6amClub it's aim is simple, if your busy all day & don't have the time to train, just get up earlier & join other like minded people:
Wakey Wakey rise & shine, we've had our sleep & it's that time. Always the best way to avoid being a CHUBB, is get outside & join
Waking up at 4am in winter when it was dark & cold was far from fun, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of my warm bed and go for a run but one look on @6amClub made me realise that I was not the only one & some people were already out pounding the streets.Inspired by Chris and his @6amClub other Clubs soon popped up including @6pmClub & @12pmClub, all very motivating accounts ran by very inspirational people. @2012milesin2012 is a community aiming to cycle, run swim 2012 miles in 2012.
Sadly on the 1st April Ged (Mr @12pmClub) died at the finish line of the Reading Half Marathon. A very sad day for not only his family & friends but to everyone who followed @12pmClub, just by looking at the account @RIP12pmClub (Set up by a close friend of Ged & his Wife) you can see how much this sad news has effected the whole running community. Messages of sadness & support soon turned into messages of pride & motivation, @12pmClub was a true fighter with drive that not only pushed his own personal goals but helped others to achieve theirs. By reading the messages of support on Twitter & on his friends blogs it is clear he had a big heart and selflessly gave his time to others, he was a devout family man that everyone looked up to. One of favourite posts is by one of his friends (@TheRamblingDuck) titled Too young to die - keeping Your Dream Alive & also a speech from the Reading Park Tribute Run on WWW.12PMCLUB.COM
The @12pmClub still goes on, people are still tweeting about their runs at midday, most in memory of Ged and the accomplishments he made in his short life are being left on the @RIP12pmClub. The Dream is certainly being kept alive in Geds name.
I sadly picked up a niggle on my run on the 1st of April so I was unable to put in a run in memory of @12pmClub until the Easter Sunday. I mentioned to The Wife the night before that I planned to be out at 11:30pm so as I could be on the moors at 12pm to show my respect from "my playground". I thought nothing of this again until 11am on Sunday when The Wife came down stairs in her gym gear;
"come on then, thought you wanted to be on the moors for 12?"
I threw on my gear & we were off!!! Me, The Wife (Sue) and Cole (Stupid Dog). Its been over a year since The Wife last ran, I've asked her to come out with me on various "recovery runs" & dog walk/runs but to this time she was here running with me. Yes it was a slow run but that was not the point, it was not a recovery run, interval run or long run, it was us doing something as a couple. I was chuffed to be letting her into my world, the conversation for the first 2 miles was very one sided (bless her she was huffing & puffing like train ;o) but that was not the point, the point was THE WIFE WAS RUNNING WITH ME!!! Happy days!
Now lets rewind that a bit, yes 2 miles!!! The Wife ran the first 1.6 miles without stopping at all & she did it in a very respectable 17min. Not too shabby for a non runner running for the 1st time over trial ground.
*PROUD FACE*
We walked for a short length of time before running again, this pattern continued and at 12pm in memory of @12pmClub and to capture the memory of this run with my wife I pulled out my phone and took this pic.
12pm |
Please take the time to check out the website made in his honour WWW.12PMCLUB.COM and if you have a challenge you want to compete in in memory of Ged and the British Heart Foundation take a look at the challenges tab
Thank you
Martin.
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