PAIN IS MY FRIEND

Jono, Sarah, Jamie & the fantastic team at at 1RM Physio sorted out my calf strain & now they are striving to keep me going & get on top of my back issues before the Sydney marathon. I'm sure they will but if they can't I'll just have to guts it out & remember that "pain is my friend - its just weakness leaving the body"

The schedule heading through to Christmas is filling up now with the following races locked in:

• 10th August Auckland Volcanoes Challenge



• 17th August Xterra Trail Run Series Race 4



• 21st September Sydney Marathon



• 2nd November Auckland Marathon



• 6th December Kepler Challenge 60km Mountain Race

With a few big training runs thrown in between I should be in good shape.

Remember its all for a reason - check my earlier posts - "The Cause" & "The Challenge" to find out more and "The Millionaire Night Out" to get info on the fundraising night.

No its not me but boy I've felt like it at times!

Millionaires Night Out - You're invited!

On the 13th of September I'll be hosting a fundraising night to help raise money for two great causes;

• The Orphan Help Centre http://www.orphanhelpcenter.org/


• College Rifles Sports Complex Turf Appeal http://www.collegerifles.co.nz/

The theme is the Millionaires Night Out and all guests will receive $1,000,000 in casino chips to play to their hearts content in a real casino environment with entertainment throughout the night. There will be great prizes for those that have the highest chip count at the end of the night as well as silent auctions and a live auction where a select number of incredible prizes will be available for you to bid on.

The goal for the night is to raise $20,000 for each of the causes.

The College Rifles Rugby Union Football Club was founded in 1897. For over 100 years College Rifles has fostered local sporting activities and have provided its broad based community with an excellent club environment. College Rifles is proud of the fact that it is a community based club, with a large and diverse membership of all ages, based in the Eastern Bays of Auckland.
College Rifles different sports include Rugby, Touch, Netball, Badminton and Lacrosse.

The Club needs to raise nearly 2.5 million dollars to upgrade the turf on its main playing field & will be the first rugby club ground in the southern hemisphere to move to a synthetic surface.

Orphan Help Center (OHC) is a registered NGO (non-governmental organisation) based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in August 2004, the orphanage cares for Nepalese village children whose parents have either passed away, disappeared or are too poor to feed and educate them. At this time, the orphanage is home to 17 children

Tickets are only $25 for what will truly be a great night out & get in early as there are only 300.

If you are able to assist in any way or able to donate prizes or auction items please also let me know & you will certainly be getting plugs on the night and in this blog!

The Cause

The Orphan Help Centre - Kathmandu

The Orphan Help Cente is a not for profit NGO (non govermental organisation) based in Kathmandu Nepal. http://www.orphanhelpcenter.org/

Established in August 2004, the orphanage cares for Nepalese village children whose parents have either passed away, disappeared or are too poor to feed and educate them. At this time, the orphanage is home to 17 children.
In a country where there is no social security and the political situation is highly controversial, OHC provides a unique opportunity for orphans to be educated at a private school and to be loved and cared for in a small, family-like environment.

With the average annual household income in Nepal varying from a little over $500NZD in rural areas to around $2000NZD in Kathmandu many children are forced to work as labourers of cleaners from a very young age just to help provide for their families or end up on the streets exposed to drugs violence and crime.

The Orphan Help Centre runs under the philosophy that education is the key to breaking this poverty cycle. It not provides the children that live there with a home but pays for their uniforms and private education as well.

OHC was originally founded by Biba Tamang, a Nepalese orphan who was raised by her grandparents in August 2004. At that time, along came three travellers with an interest in helping Nepalese orphans; Nonna Lamponen, Amanda McKay and Leen Lievens. Together they have created a home that exceeds most orphan centres. The center is home to no more than 20 children at a time, so a family environment is nurtured. The focus is on love, nutrition and education

My goal is to raise $20,000 for the Orphanage which should fund it for an entire year. I am running a Charity Gala evening on the 13th of September and am seeking donations as well as prizes that can be auctioned off on the night. The guests at the event will be from some of Auckland’s most affluent areas with large amounts of dispoable income and would be a great target market for many businesses.

There are also opportunities to sponsor children at the orphanage directly through the website. The great thing about this charity is that 100% of the money donated actually gets put to use for the children. With many other large scale save the children/tear fund type charity's as little as 7-12% of money donated ends up in the front line due to the scale of operations and administrative costs of running them.

Please have a good look through the website especially the childrens profiles and you will get a real sense of what these fantastic people are trying to achieve and why! http://www.orphanhelpcenter.org/thechildren

The Challenge

The Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon

Billed as the highest and hardest marathon in the world the start line is at Everest Base Camp 17,593ft a staggering 5,277ft higher than the summit of NZ's highest peak Mt Cook (12,316ft). The event is hardly one you can just throw a pair of shoes on and enter; Competitors take 10 days to trek up to the start line on foot where oxygen levels are around half that of what we are used to at sea level.

Dominated by the locals used to the harsh conditions and lack of oxygen the winning time in the latest event was 3hrs59mins with the first non Nepali runner coming in just under an hour later. As an indication as to just how hard this event is even for those fit enough and crazy enough to compete, the average non Nepali finishing time was just over 9hrs 30mins.

I only caught the trail running bug in recent years and competed in the Kepler Challenge in 2007. While training for the Kepler I heard about the Everest Marathon & tucked it away in the back of my mind as one of those “must do one day” events. When Sir Ed died earlier this year I made the commitment to head to Nepal and, in the famous words of the great mountaineer himself - “knock the bastard off”.

Preparation for the event is going to be intensive. I've already lined up the Sydney Marathon in Sept, Auckland Marathon in October & the Kepler Challenge in December. Along the way I will also be competing in the Xterra trail running events each month.

Even with all this lined up there is a monotony to all the training so if there is an event you think I should do or any training tips please let me know & I'll try and knock that off as well.

http://www.everestmarathon.com/