Friday 9 September 2011

Why James Roberts is running to raise money for deaf children

Running 13 miles is no mean feat. A half-marathon should not be attempted by the faint-hearted, should not be attempted without proper training and is only attempted by the brave.

Well on the 9th October, James Roberts will be running the Great Eastern Run to raise money for Peterborough's deaf children. We met him at his home in March, Cambridgeshire to ask him what drives him to take on such a challenging run? 

James Roberts at home with his dog, Arnold.
"I do it because I love to challenge myself. I haven't done any running for a couple of years though." Jim (as he is known to his friends) said.

"I'm totally out of practice. But I will have to train and get back into the swing of things - and soon - because there is only one month to go. 

"That's the most difficult thing for me actually; its finding the motivation to train. We all have busy lives so to run three or more times a week to get into a position to be able to run a half-marathon comfortably is the real test, especially when its raining and windy outside. Yes, that's going to be the most difficult part."

By the time race-day is upon us, Jim, who has been training since the beginning of August, will have trained for about 30 hours covering about 160 miles around the flat fenlands around March. He will be running in all weathers to prepare - because there is no telling what the weather will be like on the day.

"I have run in some pretty bad conditions but I have never felt like giving up once the race has started" Jim continued. 

James Roberts
James at a previous event..brrr looks chilly
"Once I get going, I don't ever think about stopping - I just have to get round the course. It always helps to have moral support so I hope as many people can make it down as possible to keep me focused!"

Jim is a veteran of the Great Eastern Run and has run the Norwich Half-Marathon twice on top of many other long-distance events. Jim has also raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support through another half-marathon he ran. 
So it's clear that Jim's a good guy who pushes himself to the limits to benefit others. So why run for PDDCS this time?

"I think PDDCS is a very good local charity which does lots of events and work for deaf children in Peterborough." Jim said.

"I've seen through some of the deaf children I have met the impact that deafness can have and I want  to help make a difference to the lives of those children. They put on trips away, youth clubs, play groups and parties for the kids. That all takes money and it has to come from somewhere."

Jim has set himself a fundraising target of £300, which will help pay for the cost of a coach to take the children to a family funday. 

If you want to support Jim, it is easy to do. All you have to do is click here to visit Jim's fundraising page and make a contribution. Go on - it only takes a moment and 100% of your money will go directly to pay for activities that directly benefit deaf children. 

Make a donation using Virgin Money Giving

If you would like to learn more about fundraising for PDDCS - please have a look at our fundraising page

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